Blood is Thicker Than Water
by Surfchick14
Summary: When Charlie discovers he has Dementia, he's deemed unfit to provide for 17 year old Bella forced to send her to Chicago. 28 year old bachelor Edward is known for his dangerous-mafia ways. Read as the two become reacquainted, the good & bad.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

Two days before Charlie's 16th birthday, he discovered his father Charles Swan was diagnosed with Dementia at the age of fifty-one. Like a burglarized house being stripped of its valuables, the memories that Charles Swan had accumulated during his fifty-one years had slowly begun to fade away along with him. With no cure, the Swan family knew it was unlikely that Charles would ever go back to normal, soon he would forget names and faces until he would eventually turn into just a body without life.

The Swan household did not let this deter them from continuing on with their life. Marie Swan a forever-timid wife and partner of Charles, now fought with the insurance company to pay her husbands medication expenses. Three years after Charles diagnosis, their only child Charlie, married Renee Higgenbotham a lovely brunette. After they got married they bought a house and relocated to Chicago so they could be close to their family. Marie was grateful for this seeing as she liked having her son close to home in case anything should happen to Charles.

Charlie and Renee Swan were happily in-love. They lived in a nice two-storey house with a white picket fence and every night they would make love until they would fall asleep wrapped in each others arms. But of course nothing could stay perfect. Four years later Renee Swan died giving birth to their daughter, Isabella Marie Swan. Renee managed to name and hold her child before heart gave out. Isabella was a splitting image of her mother, but Charlie never once blamed her for killing Renee. He believed things happened for a reason, even if the reason sucked.

After Renee's funeral, there was a dispute between the two families. Renee's family thought it would be better for Siobhan, Renee's older sister, to take care of Isabella and raise her seeing as she already had a one year old daughter. Siobhan tried to reason with Charlie that this is what Renee would had wanted. Marie did not agree, stating that the baby's place should be with the father's side of the family. For this reason both families stood divided.

Charlie watched as the two families fought over his little girl. Feeling as though the only remainder left of Renee, was now trying to be taken away from him, he packed his bags and moved to a small town in Washington DC with baby Isabella bundled in a pink blanket resting sleepily in his arms. There, that is where they lived for the next seventeen years.

As Bella Swan arrived home from school she unlocked the door and trudged up to her room. Exams started in a month and being the studious, good daughter that she was, she opened her text books preparing for hours of endless studying.

Four hours later Bella slapped her text book shut and gazed at her alarm clock. It was 8:30, frowning Bella wondered why her father hadn't called to tell her that he was coming home late, he always did. Maybe he had gone to the pub with Harry she reasoned to herself, as she fixed dinner.

By the time the clock reached ten Bella was getting nervous. Her father had never been out this late without some type of communication letting her know that he would be home late. Picking up the house phone she dialled Harry Clearwater's number asking him whether he knew where Charlie was, "Sorry Bella he isn't with me, he left the station at 5 though but didn't mention going out anywhere. I'm sure he's fine Bella, nothing would keep him away from you." Sighing Bella hangs up, maybe he went back to the police station and had to do some work, Bella thinks worriedly placing herself at the bottom of the stairs. Just when she is about to ring the station she hears a loud rumbling sound that can only be mistaken for her father's big, red Chevy. Jumping to her feet she rushes to the door the exact same time Charlie enters the house.

"Daddy! Where have you been? You didn't even call to say you were going to be out late!" Bella flushes red from shouting, barely giving Charlie time to take his jacket off.

"Sorry Bells, I was out with Harry and lost track of time. I'm fine though, no need to worry 'bout your old man." Charlie kisses her forehead and trudges up the stairs, leaving an apprehensive Bella standing at the bottom of the steps.

Charlie was a reasonable man, content with his life. He loved his job, friends, and most importantly his daughter, Renee's little miracle she left with him. There were times where he regretted moving to Forks unable to give his daughter all the things she wanted, even when she tried to tell him she didn't want anything. But overall the decision of relocating to Forks was the best thing that could have happened. He found his love of fishing and was able to watch his child grow into a beautiful woman.

So when Charlie arrived home late at night he felt terribly guilty of lying to Bella about his whereabouts, but he didn't want her to worry. The truth was that he did leave the police station at 5, but somehow he found himself parked to the side of an isolated road with no recognition of how he got there. It was like he was sleep walking and when he realized where he was it almost ten at night, his hands trembling from the cold.

Charlie tried not to dwell on his thoughts, spending the night tossing and turning over in his bed until he decided to call in sick the next morning and scheduled an appointment with Doctor Cullen.

The morning of his appointment Charlie kept it a secret from Bella not wanting to cause her worry. So when they woke up to do their daily routines they both acted as if nothing had happened last night, Bella kissed Charlie goodbye before leaving for school and when she was gone he placed his dirty dishes in the sink and drove to the hospital.

Dr Carlisle Cullen was a good looking man in his mid-forties, when he had first arrived at Forks with his wife he had caused quite a stir in the hospital. Nurses were falling all over him and the patients increase in woman seemed to rise. With his blonde hair and bright blue eyes, it was hard to resist. His wife Esme Cullen, was just as beautiful, she was friendly and was very active within the community. She had beautiful auburn hair and light hazel eyes, they never had children seeing as Esme was infertile but she enjoyed helping the kids at the orphanage voluntary.

When Charlie entered Dr Cullen's office he could tell he was deeply concerned. After a general examination he led Charlie back into the office.

"So, is there something wrong with me?" Charlie asked straight to the point.

"Should there be something wrong with you?" Noticing the worry in his eyes Carlisle continued, "Charlie, I didn't find anything wrong with you when I did the general examination, in fact you passed with flying colors."

"Oh… Its just that I've been having some problems with memory loss lately,"

"That's quiet normal as people grow older Chief, it doesn't mean anything." Carlisle said reasoning with him. Unconvinced Charlie explains what happened yesterday night and how he had no recognition of getting there.

"Look, my grandfather died of Alzheimer's when he was seventy-five and my dad was diagnosed with Dementia when he was fifty-one." Pausing Charlie continues, "I'm forty-six,"

"That doesn't mean you'll get it Charlie, it just means you have a greater chance. Why don't I schedule you in for an appointment next week." Standing up he walks Charlie to the door patting his shoulder on the way. "The odds are against it Charlie, don't worry too much about it."

A week after the appointment Charlie noticed Bella giving him concerned looks when she thought he wasn't looking. He had become stuck in his own head, full of endless worry.

The lab results had come in, so during his lunch break he drove up to the hospital like he did a week ago and as he entered Carlisle's office the one look on his face said it all.

"Say it doc'."

"You have Dementia Charlie…" There was a long silence between them, Charlie inhaling and exhaling shaky breaths. "What do I do?"

"I suggest spending time with family, it's very important to be around family during a time like this. I can give you a number to call if you have more questions or worried, I also suggest you tie up any loose ends, financial worries and such."

Barking out a throaty laughs Charlie says dryly, "Y'know, one of the reasons I got married was that if I ever did get… Alzheimer's or Dementia, was so that I wouldn't be alone and I would have someone I loved to take care of me if this ever did happen. The jokes on me though isn't, Renee's dead and I don't think I could burden Bella with my problems."

"Charlie I don't think Bella would ever think that, she adores you. Not telling her would probably be worse than telling her, let her make a decision for herself."

"Bella is my daughter and I decide what is best. I know what it's like to grow up having to carrying a burden like that, my father was diagnosed with Dementia remember. I couldn't get the job I wanted and had to move closer to home in case anything happened. I don't want that for my daughter, I want her to go to college or travel the world without having to worry for her old man."

"I understand but she can still do those things even if you do tell her Charlie, she won't stop her life. She'll just put it on hold for a while."

Standing up abruptly, Charlie nodded stiffly putting on his parka. "No offense Carlisle, but I think I'll decide what's best for my daughter. And you don't know Bella like I do, if I tell her she'll think its her responsibility to take care of me 24/7 and I don't want that for her. So I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone about this, especially Bella." With that he he left the room and went back to work.

Charlie didn't leave work until late that night calling home to tell Bella he had some work that needed to be done by tomorrow. But really he just needed some time to think before going home to face his daughter.

Picking up the address book he flicked through the pages until he found the number he wanted before grabbing the phone and dialing the number. He froze for a second before he heard a woman's voice on the other end.

"Yes, hi Siobhan… um its Charlie. Charlie Swan."

"Oh! Hello Charlie, how are you?"

"Uh good." He cleared his throat, "And you?"

"Well thank you. And Isabella?"

It took Charlie a few seconds to realize that she was talking about Bella. "Bella's fine. Top of her class." Charlie says proudly, "Hm that's good, she must be tall now right? She's what fifteen… sixteen years old?"

"Actually she's seventeen. She's the splitting image of Renee, got her brown hair and eyes."

"Well I wouldn't know would I." Siobhan's voice cuts cold through the phone, "I haven't seen her since you ran off with her when she was a baby."

"I know, you have the right to be angry with me."

"Mum misses her granddaughter, you cut us out of her life without a call or even a letter. We had no idea whether you guys were even alive."

"I'm sorry. But that's the reason why I called… I have Dementia."

Charlie could hear the intake of her breath, "You once long ago offered to take care of Bella. I was wondering whether that offer still stands? I don't want to put Bella through what lies ahead, I know what its like and I don't want that for her."

There was a long pause before Siobhan was able to form a sentence, "I'm terribly sorry for your… difficulty. I need to talk to Liam but Bella is welcome to stay with us, she's family. Mum will be happy that Renee's child will be with us again, they have a lot of catching up to do. Just think Charlie, if you hadn't been so stubborn and let me raise Bella then we wouldn't have to be going through this."

Biting his tongue he kept his mouth shut. He was still after all his beloved wife's sister.

"I'll fly over this weekend to pick her up Charlie."

"So soon?" Charlie asked surprised, he wanted to spend just a bit more time together before she left.

"Well I'll be busy the next few weeks and that way she won't miss school or anything."

After exchanging address details and making polite conversations they're about to hang up when Charlie quickly stops her, "Don't tell Bella about my… condition." After assuring she wouldn't they both hung up.

Now the hard part would be trying to break it to his daughter. This would kill her, he knew.

When Charlie arrived home at 8 o'clock at night he found Bella sleeping on the couch. Taking in her sleeping frame, he gently woke her up watching as she gave him a sleepy smile.

"Bella I-we need to talk." he stuttered.

Confused she mirrored her father's position, sitting up straight against the couch. "What's wrong daddy?"

Charlie gave her a sad smile, "You remind me so much of your mother. I wish you could have gotten to know her, she would be so proud of you."

Smiling Bella reached to grip his hands, "I wish I got to know her as well."

"When your mother died her sister, your aunt, offered to take care of you. Maybe its time for you to get to know them, and I think your at the age you need to have some sort of mother figure,"

"What!" Furious, Bella draws her hand away from her fathers jumping to her feet.

"Your grandmother misses you a lot." Charlie says weakly with a smile as if that will convince her.

"I don't want to go. Why are you sending me away?" Bella cries, tears already forming in her eyes.

"I'm doing what's best for you-" He tried to reason.

"No! Don't make me, I thought we were happy. I don't care about them I want to stay with you!" Charlie watched as she pleaded and felt his heart break into a million pieces. He would always remember her face red and tears running down her cheeks as she begged him to stay, he knew what he said next would would haunt him forever.

"I am your father and you will do as I day! I'm doing what's best for both of us, Siobhan was right I should have left her to raise you. She can take better care of you than I can and give you the things you want."

"But I don't want anyth-"

"I think!" Charlie cuts her off loudly before continuing, "I think its time for us to go our separate ways, you've noticed I haven't been happy lately…" There was a long pause, only the sound of Charlie's ragged breathing and Bella's crying could be heard.

"Your aunt will come this weekend to pick you up and you'll both fly to Chicago the next day. She'll look after you from now on."

With that he left a shaking, sobbing Bella standing alone in the middle of the room. It was a good thing she was crying, so she wouldn't have been able to hear Charlie sobbing under his breath as he ran up the stairs and to his room.

The sound of tyres rolling against the hard gravel woke Charlie from his stupor. He watched with tired eyes as Siobhan pulled in her rented black SUV into the driveway.

As she got out of the car he smirked. Siobhan looked so out of place, her designer clothes were pressed and ironed showing no signs of any wrinkles, her too-high heels sunk into the grass as she wobbled to the front door. Somethings never changed.

When her heels finally hit the pavement, she patted her skirt down and walked to where Charlie was leaning against the door frame watching her with amused eyes.

"Charlie. You look well." Very quickly his face turned somber, he knew she was lying. He hadn't slept well the last few nights, every time he closed his eyes he would picture the haunted look on his daughters face as he told her she was to live with her aunt.

Clearing his throat he tried to muster a smile but failed, "You to. Hope you didn't have any trouble getting here."

"Not at all…"

Siobhan Brennan, much like her sister, shared the same brown hair and eyes, but unlike her decease sister Renee, she was more hard and strict, whilst Renee was a free-spirit. The two were so opposite from one another it was hard to believe they were ever brought up together.

Loud rock music erupted suddenly making the house vibrate.

"What is that?" Siobhan had to slightly yell as she asked Charlie, "I don't know."

Walking inside the house, an unimpressed Siobhan trailed behind Charlie like an eager puppy. As they reached the top of the stairs the noise became louder until Siobhan was sure her eardrums would burst. Charlie walked over to the door on the left and tried to open it but with no luck it was locked, frowning he banged the door trying to get Bella to unlock it.

Siobhan didn't bother to try hide her grimace, Charlie had led her niece astray, she was unable to believe that this was Renee's daughter. She was out of control and Siobhan was glad he called her, her behaviour was unacceptable, especially if Bella wanted to live with the Brennan's. If there's one thing Siobhan Brennan couldn't tolerate was disobedience.

Finally the door opened and revealed a gloomy Bella, her suitcase was out but nothing was packed, clothes and belongings scattered all over the room.

"Can you please turn your stereo off Bella?"

With a defeated sigh, the seventeen year old turned her stereo off and once again the house was quiet, the only sound left was the ringing in their ears.

"This is your aunt Siobhan," Charlie said indicating to the door where Siobhan had stayed rooted to.

Siobhan gave a little a wave and said hi waiting for Bella to reply back. After a minute when it became obvious that she would receive no such response Bella turned around and dropped onto the bed, continuing to fold her clothes.

Touching Charlie lightly on the shoulder Siobhan asked him for some privacy. Hesitating, he watched his daughter with sad eyes, he had done this to her. Nodding he walked down the stairs and plonked himself on the couch, for the thousandths time he wondered whether he was doing the right thing.

Upstairs in Bella's room Siobhan cleared her throat trying to get her attention, "It's been a long time hasn't it. The last time I saw you, you were a baby."

"Seventeen years does that to you." Bella replied dryly flicking through a magazine.

Narrowing her eyes, Siobhan yanked her magazine out of her hands and threw it to the other side of the room. "Now you listen Isabella. Your father may put us with this type of behavior but I will certainly not. So start packing your bags."

Bella eyed her aunt with distaste and rolled her eyes until she felt her head snap back from the impact of her aunts hand.

Not once had Bella been hit before, Charlie didn't believe in hitting and he loved his daughter too much to ever punish her properly, the worse she had gotten was being taken off her phone privilege, not that she used it and Charlie knew that.

"Are we clear?" Siobhan asked coldly.

Bella could feel her cheek stinging and her eyes burning, but tried not to give her aunt the satisfaction. She deserved the slap. She knew she had it coming but it still hurt, somehow Bella had still hoped that her father would change his mind, until it had finally hit her when her aunt had arrived. Her dad didn't want her, he was giving her away.

Nodding she watched as her aunt began picking up her folded clothes and placing them inside her suitcase. "Now help me pack." Bella reluctantly started taking out clothes from her drawers and placing them inside her suitcase. For the last seventeen years this had been her home, she grew up in this house it was hard to believe she was actually being forced to leave.

Annoyed by her slow pace, Siobhan pushed Bella to the side then proceeded to empty the drawers and place her belongings into the suitcase. By the afternoon all of Bella's belongings were packed and ready to go.

"Charlie do you know where Isabella's pink blanket is? She can''t find it," Siobhan asked as her heels clicked down the stairs.

"That girl could never remember where she put her stuff." Charlie smiles sadly, "Let me help carry the gear to the car." Charlie says grabbing a suitcase in each hand, "Gear?" Siobhan repeats quizzically, then laughs, "Oh Charlie you've always had a way with words." Bella frowns at them then grabs her backpack before running her hand along the walls, trying to savor the moment.

Outside Charlie places the suitcases in the back of the SUV, "I thought you were going to go tomorrow?" he asks as he closes the boot of the car. He had hoped to spend more time with Bella before they left.

"I think it will be better if we were to leave today and… I don't think you should come with us to the airport. It'll be easier if you just say your goodbyes here," Noticing the stubbornness in his eyes, Siobhan tilts her head towards Bella, her face is the picture of sadness as she walks over to them. "Don't make it worse for Isabella. Give her a clean break."

Charlie looked at his daughter and felt his heart clench. Siobhan was right, he didn't want to make this worse than it already was.

"Isabella lets go."

Gripping the straps of her bag she hesitantly steps forward to hug her dad, but he pulls her into a tight embrace, "Bye Daddy." Her voice breaks at the end and she rips herself out of his warm, familiar embrace and quickly enters the car slamming the door shut.

As her aunt reverses out of the driveway she forces herself not to look back, letting her tears run freely down her cheeks and her body trembling from her sobs. It is only when they pass the 'Welcome to Forks' sign that Bella lets go and cries for her dad not caring that her aunt is there.

When the car is out of sight Charlie pulls out a small, pink blanket from the inside of his parka and lifts it to his face.

It was all he had left of her.

* * *

#The story will be a slow process so please don't send me hate mail if you want quicker updates or don't like the story. If you don't like it then don't read it. This story plot has been on my mind for a while unable to leave me alone so I've decided to make a story out of it. The first few chapters will be a bit slow but it will pick up, I'm up for criticism as long as you don't diss the story. I do this for fun so don't expect a fantastic story and also I have no beta so I am sorry if there are things spelt wrong or sentences that don't make sense.

Don't worry I won't be rambling in every chapter, I just wanted to warm people ahead before they read this. Otherwise please read and enjoy, reviews are always nice as well. There will be a mobward/older Edward in this story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

_Chapter One  
_

Leaving Forks was in some ways worse than not knowing my mother. At least when Renee had died I didn't know her that well to feel the pain and loss my father had endured when she passed. Its not that I would miss Forks, who would miss the rainy, cold weather? But it was home, familiar and comfortable and it hurt that my own father didn't want me anymore. Tossing me aside to my aunt like I was no longer his problem. Well, realistically speaking I guess I wasn't anymore.

Aunt Siobhan had been relatively nice to me on the plane ride to Chicago. I think she pitied me rather watching as I cried myself to sleep on the airplane ride. I still didn't like her though, even if she was my mother's sister.

Arriving at the Brennan's mansion was daunting, everything screamed out wealthy, the expensive cars to their lavishing white furniture. It didn't help that they lived at the prestigious end of Chicago, surrounded by other wealthy, gossipy people.

Because we had left Forks on the weekend and landed on the following day, I hadn't missed any work from school, the same day aunt Siobhan had enrolled me into Guildford Grammar College Prep, the high school that my two cousins attended. To make matters worse Charlotte was in the same year as me and now we were forced not only share the same classes but also share the same bedroom. To put it lightly she wasn't very happy with that, stating that I was her "stupid excuse of cousin" and was going to embarrass her in front of all her friends, "How would I ever show my face in school again?" she yelled. Uncle Liam assured Charlotte she would if she ever wanted that new sports convertible.

That was just one more reason why I didn't belong here, adding to my "I don't belong here" mantra.

Like the last two weeks it had been just like another ordinary day at school, until I was approached by a brown-headed boy in between classes.

Brady Collin was a straight A senior who wore his contempt for everything and everybody but himself, on his sleeves for everyone to see. He didn't care about being popular and most kids were too intimidated by his intelligence to approach him. In short, he was about the most unpopular kid at high school, and if Charlotte had ever found out that I was talking to him she would probably have a conniption, but it was nice to talk to someone during class for once. So when Brady asked me out on a date Friday night I accepted, after feeling so low it was nice to be able to look forward to something.

"Great," he says sarcastically indicating to a classroom filled with noisy teenagers. "This is what happens when a class is required," Girls were gossiping, boys were laughing loudly, all oblivious to the teacher standing at the head of the room who desperately looked as if she wanted to be anywhere else but here. Couldn't say I blamed her.

As the bell rings Brady groans, "Another hour of gruelling boredom. Thank God we only have one year left then college. I don't know how much longer I can stand this!"

When school ended, I walked straight back to the Brennan mansion knowing full well that no one would be home this early except grandma Lucy, who was always home glued to that old, wooden rocking chair of hers.

Placing the jumper she was knitting on the table in front of her, she leaned forward eying the reflection of the mirror next to the door. "Isabella, is that you?" Grandma Lucy was mostly deaf so she depended on her other senses to make up for her hearing loss.

Casting my head down, I sighed dragging my feet against the ground. I was hoping to get inside unnoticed. "Yes Grandma it's me." I walked into the living room where grandma Lucy was seated and saw her eying me up and down.

"Don't drag your feet against the ground, it's a bad habit." She said wagging her finger at me, "And look at me when I talk to you! Back straight. Good heavens! You most certainly are Charlie's child. My Renee was always respectful and obeyed; I never had any cause to be ashamed of her. The only time her good sense failed her was when she met Charlie and married him. If she had listened to me at the beginning," Grandma Lucy said, the knitting needles clacking away, "then she would still been alive."

She made sure to tell me this at least once everyday, if Charlie hadn't married Renee then she would never had died giving birth to me. I hate how she indirectly blamed me for something I had no control over.

After living here for two weeks now its hard to imagine how my mum survived living in this sort of environment. My thoughts of her were now jumbled up together, I used to believe she was a free-spirit as my father had described her, but after listening to aunt Siobhan and grandma Lucy I don't know what to think of her anymore.

"My Renee," she continued, "Used to have many boys lining up behind her at your age. She had boys calling her every night-she was that popular."

I knew what she was getting at; she was asking where my boyfriends were. How could I ever live up to those type of expectations? My mother was the perfect one, I wasn't.

'What's wrong with me?' I wondered desperately. Suddenly I remembered Brady. He wasn't handsome or popular but grandma didn't have to know that.

"We're not doing anything Friday night are we?" I asked as grandma eyed me suspiciously.

"No, why?" The sewing needles in her hands froze.

"Oh.." I say pausing, "Just a boy in my class asked me out Friday night, so if we're not doing anything I was wondering whether I could go."

Her reaction was something I did not anticipate.

"There are no plans and you know it." Grandma said flatly, "You're just making up this story to prove me wrong. But I know better! You're just like your father! Liars."

Storming from the living room the last thing I hear is her muttering, "Ungrateful child." before I run up the stairs.

I spend the next hour drowning my hurt in tears.

When I had finally calmed down and my tears had dried out, I yanked my school bag from my shoulder and threw it to the corner of the room before turning on the expensive-looking radio until I found a decent station. Back at Forks, we only had one music station that everyone listened to which played both music and the news.

Tugging off the ridiculous handy-down school uniform, I quickly change into sweats and a big shirt. The uniform was itchy and uncomfortable and since it used to belong to Charlotte, the navy straight skirt was all too short and the white-sleeved button-up blouse was really tight. Paired off with the school woollen jumper, tie, knee-high white socks and black shoes. It's amazing how girls can turn such a simple school uniform into a man's wet dream.

Yet another thing we didn't have back at Forks, kids didn't care about the latest fashion. Everyone mostly wore jeans and a top since it always rained.

"... _It has been reported that two more dead bodies were discovered at their house with three gun shot wounds. A forty-nine year old man suffered a broken arm with two gun shot wounds to the chest, while the other male was shot once to the head. There was no sign of forced entry and was believed to have taken place last night. Neighbors discovered them early this morning and the murderer is believed to be a dark skinned man with a tall build. Anyone with information should call..."  
_

One more thing I've noticed is that the death rate in Chicago is a lot higher than anywhere else I know.

Grabbing my phone I walk to the bathroom and close the door locking it along the way. Dropping to my feet I dial the familiar home number, tapping my fingers in a rhythmic-tic pattern against my leg.

"You've reached the Swan household… We're not here at the moment but please leave a message… Okay bye." The beeper of the voice-mail dings and I hang up resting my head against the cold tiles.

I smile as I recall Charlie's voice being played on the voice-mail. I missed him more than anything, but I guess the feeling wasn't mutual.

For the first week I would call him three times a day leaving a message. At first I would cry and beg for him to take me back, then I would yell at him telling him I hated him, only to apologize straight away. By day eight when it became obvious that he would not return to my calls, I gave up.

Even though I knew he wouldn't answer I still called because, hearing that familiar, gruff voice of his being played on the voice-mail is as close as I will get to him.

As I tip-tied to my room I heard the familiar voice of aunty Siobhan being the first to arrive home from work. I could hear the sharp but hushed voices of grandma Lucy and aunty Siobhan talking rapidly, no doubt about my apparently non-existent date according to grandma.

"What is this I hear about you lying to your grandmother?" Aunt Siobhan asked as she entered Charlotte's bedroom.

"I didn't lie though! Brady Collins did ask me out Friday night, I'm telling the truth!" I exclaim just as tears start appearing once more.

"He did!" Aunt Siobhan exclaimed happily. "Oh come now, there's no need to cry." She says grabbing a tissue and dabbing at my eyes, "I'm sure grandma just misunderstood you, that's all. No need to get so worked up."

Sniffing I hug my pillow to my chest.

"I was just telling my friends that my niece was popular with the boys. They thought you were playing hard to get, but I knew better. I told them you were just waiting to go out with a boy you really liked, instead of wasting your time with all the others." Aunt Siobhan said laughingly and patted me proudly on my hand.

"Do I know this boy? Or his parents?" She inquired.

But before I could answer, Charlotte's nine-year-old brother, Randall, came running into the room dressed in his little's league uniform, covered with sweat and dirt. Forgetting that she was in midst of an interrogation, aunt Siobhan jumped to her feet grabbing Randall by the arm and dragged him towards the bathroom, all the while lecturing him about dirtying the new clean carpet.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I'm glad that the conversation was over. I don't think my aunt would like Brady very much, even if he was the only boy who had asked me out since arriving in Chicago.

Uncle Liam was the next one to arrive home. Minutes later changing out of his work suit into a black T-shirt and his favorite set of shorts that had printed images of palm trees all over them. Aunt Siobhan hated those shorts but he refused to get rid of them, insisting on relaxing in the evening, his way.

As I tried to study on the small desk in the girl's bedroom that I had to share, I dreaded the return of my cousin Charlotte.

Charlotte had a life. Charlotte had friends, and many boy friends. The fact that Charlotte wasn't home yet and I was, embarrassed aunty Siobhan.

"I'm home!" Charlotte yelled and seconds later the sound of the front door slammed. Groaning into my history book, I could faintly make out aunt Siobhan's voice talking to Charlotte in the kitchen.

"Who's Brady Collins, Honey?" She asked chopping vegetables.

"Only, like, the most unpopular guy at school. Why?" Charlotte replied, in a voice suggesting that her mother was stupid for asking such a dumb question, whilst she munched on a celery stick.

Dropping my head to the desk, I wait for the unmistakeable sound of aunty Siobhan's voice.

"Isabella! Come downstairs now!" She yelled angrily.

As I enter the kitchen aunty Siobhan furiously stomps over to me, "You don't honestly believe that I would let you go out on this embarrassing date, do you?"

Charlotte, who had just realized what was going on, jumped to her feet her eyes wide, the forgotten celery stick falling to the floor. I could visualize what she was thinking, her social life going straight down the toilet.

"Mum! You can't let her possibly go!" She yelled. "We'll be the laughing stock!"

"Of course not Charlotte!" Her mum said as if she had deeply offended her, "Isabella, I want you to ring that boy right now and cancel the date. Tell him you had a prior commitment." She thrust the phone into my hands waiting as I slowly dialled his number.

My emotions were already numb with anger but my mind was in full operation. Deciding at the last second, I quickly dialled in two random numbers at the end and held my breath.

A male voice on the other line answered and I shook as I spoke, "Hi Brady, it's me Bella. I'm sorry but I can't go out on Friday night... something came up." Pausing, I eye between the two of them to see whether they're falling for my act. The person at the other end of the line is not so happy, asking who I am and threatening to call the police.

"Okay, I'll see you at school then. Bye." I quickly hang up the receiver before the person can start yelling and give away my cover. Handing the phone back to aunt Siobhan, Charlotte looks relieved whilst her mum still looks mad.

"Let this be a lesson to you Isabella. And I don't want one word of this mentioned to anyone." She says threateningly. Charlotte and I both nod before she continues to cook dinner, as I try to unsuccessfully dodge Charlotte's shoulder bump into my arm as she storms out of the room.

Dinner is a quiet affair. The Brennan's don't talk during dinner preferring the silence.

It was the opposite back at Forks when I still lived with dad, everyday when he would come home for dinner I would cook the meal then we would eat and talk about our days in front of the television. It was our little thing. Stuffing more food into my mouth, I ignore the disgusted looks on grandma and Charlotte's faces.

I would rather deal with hundreds of them if it ever meant going back home.

~x~

Besides his work mates at the police station, Charlie was very much alone in every aspect. Only leaving the house to go to work or go grocery shopping. But his only biggest fear was that he would have an episode in public-especially in front of all his co-workers since none of them knew about his diagnosis.

Charlie suspected that Harry Clearwater knew something was going on although he did not make any comment on the matter.

But as the days grew on Harry watched as his best friend sunk deep into depression, no one was more surprised than himself when he had discovered that Charlie had sent Bella all the way to Chicago to live with Renee's side the family. Charlie was in other words a very private person. In the whole seventeen years that Harry knew him he had never once talked about his family or any other relatives, as far as he was concerned, it had always just been Charlie and Bella.

Even though Harry did not say anything, Charlie was still uneasy all the same.

To avert any thoughts that Harry could be thinking, Charlie decided to take up extra hours at the police station.

He couldn't stand going back to an empty house. To put it lightly it was a mess, empty beer bottles and pizza boxes scattered along the floor, dirty laundry piling up. Bella was usually the one who kept the house nice and clean and cooked for them. Charlie just brought home the money.

Thinking of Bella hurt too much, Charlie thought. The first few days were the worse, unable to sleep and resisting the urge to answer the phone and let it go to voice-mail. Hearing her cry and yell was too much.

Rubbing his eyes he eyed the endless paper work with distaste. Suddenly feeling very far away, he felt his heart beat racing and sweat beginning to form on the brows of his eyebrows.

"Hey, Charlie are you alright? You look a bit pale," A fellow co-worker asked.

"I don't... I don't feel that good." Slowly getting up to his feet Charlie rested the palms of his hands on the desk in front of him, breathing heavily through his nose.

"I think I'm just going to go home." Grabbing his jacket he felt his mind racing, as if he was going crazy.

Before he could take another step in the direction to the door, he felt his legs go slack underneath him and his eyes rolled towards the back his head before dropping to the ground shaking violently.

"Chief! Somebody call the ambulance, he's having a seizure!"

That was the last thing Charlie remembered before he fell deep into unconsciousness.

* * *

#The start is a bit slow but it will slowly get there so please stick with me. Thank you for all the favorite/author/story alerts and especially the reviews. They give me more motivation telling me that people enjoy what I am writing, making me write slightly faster. Updates won't usually come this fast, just letting you know and I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes since they are spelt the Australian way.

Please leave some reviews:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.  
_ Warning:_ Dark themes ahead, you've been warned.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

___Chapter Two_  


_"… Neighbours discovered them early this morning and the murderer is believed to be a dark skinned man with a tall build. Anyone with information should call the crime stoppers helpline or inform the police. Due to the increase of deaths in the past few months please make sure to lock your doors and if you see any suspicious activity please call the police."_

"I thought I told you not to leave any witnesses behind."

"I was going to kill him. We caught him tailing us when we arrived in the neighbourhood but I figured we could use him as a decoy, that way he'll get pinned for the murder and the cops will get off our back."

"Hm…"

"Did you get the money?"

"Yes."

Edward Senior raised his eye brow, then went back to reading the paperwork laying on top of his desk.

"Three gun shots?" Senior asked, unimpressed.

"Emmett ran into some… trouble."

Taking his glasses off he eyed his son, "You can't afford any stuff ups Edward. You're going to take over the family business and I need to know you can handle it."

"I know dad."

Satisfied with his answer, he nodded and continued with his work. Knowing he was being dismissed, Edward quietly left his father's study room and disappeared downstairs.

He found his mother cooking in the kitchen and humming along with the radio, sneaking behind her he tried to snag a piece of her pasta but was smacked away with a wooden spoon, "Fuck mum, what the hell was that for?"

Elizabeth Mason turned to face her son, "No food picking. And where is my hello? I haven't seen my baby for ages." She says poutingly. Rolling his eyes, he bends down to hug his mum.

"I'm a twenty-eight year old man ma. And you saw me just the the day,"

"Yes, but you were doing business. That's different."

Elizabeth gave up when she saw Edward picking at the food in the pot. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Nah, I told Emmett we'd go out later."

"I hope you don't mean going to that god, awful strip club." She says wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"Your husband happens to own that awful strip club by the way," Edward chuckles just as his father descends down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" Senior asks as he walks up to his wife.

"Were talking about that horrible strip club you own." She says, wagging the wooden spoon at him.

"Which one?"

Elizabeth stares at him in disbelief, "Which one?" She repeats, "You have more than one..."

Not knowing what to say he states, "It's good investment."

Elizabeth humphs and goes back to cooking, studiously ignoring him. "This is why I don't discuss work with you." Edward Senior says, and like father like son, he rolls his green eyes at his wife before turning to face Edward. "You staying for dinner, son?"

Edward shakes his head, his auburn locks dancing back and forth. "I'm meeting Emmett soon. I better get going actually."

After kissing his mum goodbye and giving his father a nod, Edward leaves his parents three-storey mansion and slides into the driver seat of his red Ferrari sports car, speeding off towards the direction of the city.

The Mason men loved their toys and speed, but not as much than the need to kill.

The Mason bloodline went extremely deep, beginning with the very first Mason who had migrated from Ireland to America. Ethan Mason was fifteen when he had arrived at Chicago, his father dead and his mother was working everyday just to try and feed the two of them, and in the streets where Ethan had lived, gang violence was a common occurrence. But when his mother had been brutally raped, he took it upon himself to get revenge. That was how the Irish coven first began. Ethan began recruiting men and teenagers in his neighbourhood, and when he had enough numbers, he went after the gang that killed his mother and avenged her death.

Over the time, they slowly made their way up from the dodgy neighbourhood to the city, then soon enough Chicago itself, with Ethan leading them all the way. For over a hundred and sixty years, that is six generations, the Mason's bloodline were and still are, one of the oldest organised crime groups in the US.

Ethan had made it as a tradition, that the oldest male in the Mason family was to take over the family business. Thus, Edward being the only child was to be the next in line to become boss.

By the time Edward had reached the city it was late at night. He silently cursed his mother for living on the outskirts of Chicago.

Passing the lively, crowded city of Chicago, Edward soon found himself parked in front of _Breaking Dawn_, one of the many clubs Senior owned.

Out of habit, he scanned his surroundings before his eyes landed on the horny bastards who were all lining up outside the club, hoping to get in_. _

Edward laughed at the longing looks etched onto their faces desperate to get in, but he knew it would be a long time before any of them would be let inside. His father, Senior, was very strict when it came to people, he didn't trust anyone, taking extra precaution especially when it came to the family business. The bouncers themselves were all ex-marines that Edward's father had purposely hired, all licensed and trained with a gun.

When it came to security and secrecy, Senior was on top of the game.

Sliding out of the car, Edward walks towards the entrance of the club greeting the bouncers on the way in.

"Afton. Amun."

"Hey Junior, Emmett's inside already."

As they moved aside to let Edward in, loud protests erupted from the men waiting in line.

"We were here first!"

"Who fucking made you God!"

"We've been waiting for hours!"

"That's it, we're coming in!"

Before they could take another step though Amun stepped forward, his hand resting on his hip. "Move another inch closer and you'll regret it." He said threateningly, pushing his jacket aside he revealed the hidden black gun, tucked comfortably in the inside of his belt.

"Play nicely Amun." Edward said darkly, "We've got enough blood on our hands as it is."

Entering the strip club, his eyes swept the room until he spotted a large, towering figure sitting at the bar surrounded by two female strippers. Smirking, Edward took the seat next to him.

"I see someone didn't waste anytime,"

Emmett turned around, slapping Edward on the back, "Fuck man, I didn't see you come in. What you want?" Emmett asked gesturing to the bar, "It's on me."

After ordering two long island ice tea's, Emmett cheekily winked at Edward before generously placing a hundred dollars in each of the stripper's g-strings, his eyes lingering after them with lust as they sauntered away. Edward rolled his eyes at his friends' lustful behaviour, taking a long sip of his drink.

"So, what did papa Mason say?" Emmett inquired.

"What do you think." Edward spit out rhetorically. "He's pissed off that we didn't kill that rat that was following us."

"You mean that black dude we caught snooping 'round the house?" Emmett frowned as Edward nodded, who had turned around to watch the strippers on stage.

"I thought it was a good idea if you ask me. He takes the fall, we get the cops off our back."

Edward was half listening as he watched the girls on stage twirl around the pole seductively, a particular blonde head drawing his attention. This wasn't his favourite club that Senior owned, but it was good enough.

"Dude, you even listening to me?" Emmett asked irritated.

"Fuck Emmett, can we talk 'bout this another day. I'm fucking tired." Edward grumbled, if Emmett wasn't his friend he would have shot him already.

"No, you'll be too baked to remember tomorrow morning. Now talk."

Emmett ignored the glare that Edward gave him, prompting him to continue, "He's annoyed that it wasn't a clean kill."

"I thought it was pretty good, "

"You fucking broke his arm Emmett, and shot him twice…"

"Hey! He punched me in the face," Emmett said rubbing his jaw.

Edward stood up downing the rest of his drink, "Stop being a whining bitch, he didn't even leave a bruise."

"Not that you can see..." Emmett muttered, "Skin as delicate as mine must be taken with the utmost care," Edward could not help but laugh at his trusted wing-man joking behaviour. "See ya Fucker," Emmett nodded in response, his attention already back to the strippers strutting on the bar counters.

Edward walked up to the VIP section of the club filled with work associates from the Irish coven. _Breaking Dawn _was something Senior had created for people within the Irish coven, most people came here as a wind down but sometimes business meetings also took place as a way of keeping peace.

"Hey, 'Cuz! I got the bag you wanted." A blond man with a buzz hair cut said, his white teeth gleaming in the dark lights.

"James," Edward greeted coolly in return. "You brought the E?"

James smirked, chucking Edward a clear, small bag full of ecstasy powder. "What do you think?" He asked rhetorically.

Edward opened the bag, dipping his finger into it and licked it. "I thought you didn't deal with the Russian's anymore," Edward stated, placing the bag into his pocket.

"We have an agreement," James said bluntly, "Plus, how did you know I don't deal with them anymore? I thought you were too busy dealing with the… bigger stuff," He said sneeringly.

Edward's brow furrowed together as he smiled maliciously. "I know everything James. Nothing gets past me, you should know that by now." Edward said almost as a warning.

The two cousins stare at each other with similar distaste. James glowered before mustering a smile and exiting out of the club without saying another word.

He didn't trust his cousin when it came to the mafia, since Edward and him had been informed about the 'family business' he had become unstable and double crossing.

James father was Senior's younger brother, therefore that made him Edward's first cousin. Edward put up with him for the sake of his mother, family was an important to her even though he never really understood what was the big deal of having a family and a wife.

That itself was another reason why Elizabeth was desperate for her son, Edward Junior, to find a woman and settle down. She wanted grand-babies apparently, and soon. Senior although didn't seem to agree with her, thinking that Edward wasn't ready to have a platonic relationship and run the Irish mafia at the same time. Whilst Edward, apathetically unaware of both his parents desires, was too busy getting his hands covered in blood and having immensely, satisfying sex.

Edward was interrupted of his thought when two men wearing black suits approached him, looking very much formal and down to business.

"Can I help you?" Edward asked annoyed.

He didn't want to sound like a pussy, but he was cranky, horny and tired and just wanted the day to be over.

"You're Junior right, Senior's kid?" Edward hated people referring him to 'Senior's kid', like he wasn't taken seriously enough compared to his father within the mafia industry.

When Elizabeth had given birth to her son she had made the mistake of naming him after her husband's name. Edward Senior Mason and Edward Junior Anthony Mason were very much alike much to their chagrin, but after baby Edward was born people accidentally began addressing the wrong Edward. So to avoid confusion, people started calling them by Senior and Junior.

"Yeah, why?" Edward asked defensively, tensing automatically getting ready to pull out his gun if he needed to. The atmosphere around the club seemed to go tense and quiet, men getting ready to pull out their guns if Junior commanded to.

"May we talk in private? I'd like to discuss business with you… I think I have something you'd be interested in," One of the men said as Edward eyed the brief case cautiously.

"Very well," Edward led them up the stairs, away from the strippers and music to his own personal business room that Senior had made just for him.

Edward took a seat at his desk, untucking his large Springfield army gun out of his pants and lying it on top of some paperwork, he watched amused as the two men froze, awkwardly standing as they eyed it with alarm. From the way they were behaving he could tell they had no experience within the mafia, _fucking amateurs_ Edward mentally groaned to himself.

Clearing his throat, one of the suited man stepped forward setting the brief case down on top of the desk. "I hear your last export didn't go so well, so I'd like to offer a deal." Edward narrowed his eyes, watching as the man popped the case open and revealed a range of expensive, heavy-loaded guns.

"There's more where it came from,"

Picking an eagle gun up Edward studied it, hearing the sound of his office door opening and closing, he didn't bother looking up knowing it would be Emmett anyway. He ran his fingers along the curve line of the gun and raised his head up.

Emmett stood to the side of the room watching the men with close eyes.

Without warning, Edward aimed the gun at the man closest and shot a hole in the wall above his head. He took a minute in pleasure watching them squirm with fright, before going back to business.

Indicating his head to the side, Emmett locked the door and closed the blinds, taking a stance behind the two men.

"Where did you get the guns?" Edward asked calmly.

"Our boss gave them to us-" Before he had the time to finish, Edward had grabbed him and hauled him over the desk and at the same time Emmett expertly whipped out his gun, threateningly positioning it to the back of the other guys head.

Edward jabbed the guy in the chin with his gun, "Don't lie to me, your life means nothing to me and I won't hesitate to fucking kill you."

The man being held by the collar stuttered.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice if someone tried to sell me my own guns," Edward stated darkly rather then asked.

"How did you steal my guns?" Edward asked impatiently, when no reply was given he nodded at Emmett.

A loud scream erupted as the man Emmett was positioning his gun at, dropped to the ground clutching his arm. "Now don't make me ask again,"

"I-I didn't I sw-swear. My boss just gave the guns to me and told me to make a deal with you. I swear I didn't know!" He cried desperately. Edward mentally rolled his eyes, they were weak, revealing their information too quickly. He didn't even need to threaten him.

"Who took my guns?" Edward demanded.

"I don't know! He never told me!"

"Don't fuck with me, I'm not in the fucking mood."

"I swear I don't know! Please, I'm telling the truth." Edward watched the man's face crumble and tears rolling down his cheeks, but he did not feel a bit sorry or any remorse. After growing up in this type of environment, Edward had learnt to keep his emotions tucked away and not to mix business with pleasure.

Releasing the man, he shoves him backwards, "Get you and your friend out of my fucking face and tell your boss I'll be visiting him soon." Edward said calmly, reclining back into his seat.

Emmett and Edward watched them make their way out before the door shut behind them.

"Who do you think is fucking with our back?" Emmett asked.

"Don't know, but when I fuckin' find him he'll regret it."

Emmett chuckled, tucking his gun back into his jeans. "I'm surprised you let them go,"

Edward smirked sadistically, "How many men does it take to deliver a message?"

Emmett shared a knowing grin, "One." He states as he exits out the room, shadowing the two men.

Finally by himself, Edward takes out his bag of ecstasy and a hundred dollar note. Lining the E onto the note, he carefully rolls it up before bringing it to his nose and snorting it.

After a few minutes he starts to feel the affects and smirks when he feels two soft hands at his chest, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. Lazily opening his eyes, he grins at the blonde stripper. Resting his hands at her hips, he roughly palms her through the thin, transparent material.

"Just relax Mr Mason," Her voice seductive. "I'll take care of you."

Unable to resist an offer like that, Edward grips her head forcefully before crashing her lips down to his.

Tomorrow he would go back to work, but for now, it could wait.

* * *

#Thank you _everyone_ for the favourites, author and story alerts. You don't know how much they mean to me. And especially thank you, for all the reviews, I didn't get as much reviews as the first chapter but I'm still hoping that means everyone is enjoying the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter though:) Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, some words are spelt the Australian way.

#Please review, they make me know people are enjoying the story. Even if its a few words...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.  
_ Warning:_ Dark themes ahead, you've been warned.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

___Chapter Three_

In some miraculous way, I had not only managed to put up with my relatives, but somehow also keep my date with Brady Collins a secret from my aunt.

So when Friday night had finally arrived, I was relieved to find that almost everyone-except grandma of course-in the Brennan household had somewhere else to be that evening, leaving me to make an easy get-away.

At 6:57 my phone vibrated, alerting me of an incoming text message from Brady saying that he was here.

With little difficulty, I was able to silently creep down the stairs bypassing grandma Lucy completely, who was glued to that wooden chair of hers and snuck out of the front door.

What they didn't know couldn't hurt them, I thought sneakily. Feeling rebellious and exhilarated, both at the same time, I rush towards Brady just as he pulls in into the driveway straddling a black motorbike.

I barely greet him before quickly placing the helmet onto my head, clambering up his motorbike and seizing him around the waist.

"Go! Let's get out of here!" I whisper, half in panic that grandma Lucy would catch me.

Brady yells, completely unaware of my fear of getting caught.

"Yeah baby! Let's party!" He shouts, revving the engine as he pulls out of the drive-way and speeds down the quiet street of Beverly, the loud echoing sound of the motor engine trailing behind us.

I anxiously watch as the house gets smaller, waiting to see some sort of glimpse of grandma Lucy at the front door or at the windows. But when it's clear that there's no sign of her, I breathe out a sigh of relief, slowly turning around and lessening my grip around Brady's waist.

It isn't until now I've noticed that I'm straddling a very expensive Harley-Davidson motorbike.

I knew for a fact that Harley-Davidson's weren't cheap, they were actually quite costly. So I didn't see what the problem was with going out with Brady, it's not like he was poor if he was able to afford an expensive motorbike. I had thought everyone at Guildford Grammar called Brady unpopular because he wasn't wealthy like the rest of them, but then that couldn't be the case if he was able to buy a motorbike like this.

"I didn't know you owned a motorbike?" I ask, yelling at him. This was one of the reasons why I hated riding motorbikes, because it made it impossible to talk since your voice gets muffled through the helmet.

"Yeah! It's fairly new," he yells back laughing, as if I'm missing an inside joke.

When we hit a red traffic light he kicks up the stand, and whipping out a small bottle he lifts his helmet before bringing it to his lips. Frowning I watch as he downs the contents inside the flask.

I certainly didn't feel as confident as I was this evening.

"So, ever been to a rave before?" he asks.

I shake my head, then realise he can't see me. "No, why?"

"No way! It's like the ultimate experience ever!" Brady shouts excitedly, "I guarantee you won't regret this. Jack Hills gonna be there and nobody can DJ a rave like him! There'll be like over two hundred people, its amazing!"

He shakes the small bottle and after testing to see that every drop is gone, he tosses it to the side of the road. I cringe when I hear the glass shatter as it collides with the pavement.

As Brady talks more about the rave, I can feel myself cowering back into the seat. These type of scenes were never my biggest party I've ever went to was when my dad held a benefit dinner back in Forks trying to raise funds for the environment. Charlie loved the outdoors.

Pushing those thoughts away I refocus on Brady, now wasn't the time to be thinking of dad.

"What were you drinking?" I ask curiously, watching an agitated Brady inspect his pockets as if another bottle will suddenly appear.

"Milk,"

Warily eying him from behind, my arms resume their position around his waist as the lights turn green. Kicking the stand back, he revs the motorbike taking off.

I can hear the warning signs start to go off in my head, and suddenly I wished I had listened to aunt Siobhan.

"I've changed my mind. Can you take me home please?" I plead nervously.

"No! The night hasn't even started yet, and no one is going to spoil tonight-not even you!" I whimper when he speeds up, weaving recklessly through traffic and cars until he suddenly halts in front of an old looking, run down warehouse.

Parking his Harley-Davidson in line with all other other cars and motorbikes, I notice that there are dozens of vehicles parked outside on the gravel in front of the worn warehouse. Loud music is being played and flashes of bright coloured lights beam through the bottom floor windows like airport beacons.

Brady quickly kicks his stand on before tugging his helmet and jacket off, and throwing it over the motorbike. Impatiently, he watches me with an annoyed expression.

"C'mon, let's go."

Shaking, I slowly follow his lead by taking my helmet off and resting it with his, then steadily climbing off his motorbike. When I don't move fast enough I hear Brady huff exasperatedly next to me then feel a set of cold hands gripping me tightly by the arm.

"Don't be a baby. Once you get inside you won't regret it." Brady pulls me roughly behind him as we enter through the open doors.

The music's deafening, and along the walls are large screens projecting flashing images and shapes as people are huddled up dancing in the mosh-pit.

Before I knew it, Brady had plunged through me through the crowds of clamouring people and dragged me onto the dance floor. My eyes widen when I see lots of bodies scarcely covered in clothing grinding against each other.

"B-Brady I don't want to dance!" I try to yell over the booming speakers.

I jump when I feel clammy hands on my waist rubbing up and down my sides trying to urge me on. When I refuse to participate he pulls me towards the side of the room where a large table is covered with glasses and bottles. I watch as he walks to the table and returns with two white cups, forcing one of them into my hand.

"Drink this," He orders, "You'll feel much better afterwards."

Under his scrutiny, I take a tentative sip and can feel my nose wrinkle.

"It tastes salty. What it is?"

"You really have no idea, do you?" Confused at his question he laughs at my face "You're so innocent,"

"It's Fanta, stupid," Brady mocks, taking a few gulps from his glass.

When I don't make a move to drink anything he sighs. "You wanna go home don't you? Well, I'm not gonna take you back unless you be a good girl and finish your drink. That cost me $15. And I intend to get my money's worth." Brady snaps.

Eying my cup, I try not to notice the funny taste as I quickly down the contents. When I finish my drink, I look into the cup and at the bottom I notice a strange solvent-like residue.

"Good girl, now we can go." Brady smiles, taking my cup and chucking it to the side.

As we manoeuvre our way out of the warehouse and towards his motorbike, I start to relax when Brady starts his engine and we begin to make the journey back home. When Brady hits the freeway, he starts to slow down until he comes to a stop.

"Why are we stopping?" I ask alarmed. "I needed to pull over," He states plainly.

I watch as he stumbles off his motorbike and drops to the ground, face up. Luckily there were no cars in sight.

"Brady… Are you okay? Should I call someone?" I ask, walking slowly towards him.

He mutters something unable for the ears to hear, so cautiously I drop to my knees and bend over his face.

"What? I can't hear you," His eyes suddenly shoot open causing me to shriek and fall onto my bum. "That's not funny Brady! Take me home now!" I yell desperately.

Like a typical scary movie, I watch as he slowly gets up moving zombie-like and smiles wickedly at me. In terror I shuffle backwards on my bum, ignoring the burning sensation digging into my palms as Brady stalks towards me.

"C'mon Bella," He says, "Just relax."

Before I can run, he grabs my foot yanking me down against the hard gravel and forces my arms above my head. "Let me go, please!" I cry, trying to free my arms or legs to kick him away.

Somehow I manage to free one arm and punch him in the face, "Motherfucker!"

As Brady falls backwards from the impact of my punch whilst cradling his face, I find an opportunity to escape and jump to my feet running across the road.

"Get back here Bella!"

A set of hands grab me by the arm and pull me backwards.

"Please Brady, I won't tell anyone if you let me go." I beg as he tugs me towards his chest. Giving up, I let the sobs I was holding rack through my body and flinch when he brushes a strand of hair out of my face.

"Just relax," he whispers, his breath fanning over my cheeks. Dropping my gaze to my feet, I close my eyes.

What happens next is a blur.

There's a loud, roaring engine approaching rapidly towards us, but before either of us can react its to late. My eyes fly open at the last second except I'm blinded by the bright head lights accelerating in the direction to us. The next thing I hear is a ear-splitting screeching sound.

I'm on my back and my body hurts.

15 ft away I spot another body lying face down on the road.

Everything's dizzy and there's a loud ringing in my ears.

Someone's trying to talk to me but I can't understand them. But I do notice his very green eyes.

"Who would fucking stand in the middle of the fucking road! Bloody teenagers these days. Hey, can you hear me?" Slowly nodding, I let out a groan. It feels like I've been hit in the head with a mat multiple times.

"Uh shit, don't move. I'll call the ambulance," From the corner of my eye I see the man whip out his iPhone.

Frowning I try to talk, "M-my friend. Is he a-alright?"

"He's fine, I'd worry about yourself if I was you." The guy says without looking up from his phone.

I don't remember falling asleep, but the next thing I know I'm arriving at the hospital being probed and pushed by nurses and doctors. "My friend... He was in the accident with me, is he okay?" I ask. The doctor grimaces and suddenly two policemen appear hovering at the door way.

"Miss Swan, it's important you tell us what exactly happened tonight. Why were you and Mr Collins standing in the middle of the freeway?" The chubby police officer asks.

"We we-" I stop abruptly, before noticing the two policemen looking at me fixedly. "We were arguing, it was stupid." I whisper, hoping they wouldn't catch my lie.

Unconvinced, they continue. "What was he drinking? Was he on drugs?"

"I-I don't know…" I cry out, feeling anxiety beginning to swell deep within my chest. "It's alright Miss Swan, take your time." The doctor said soothingly.

"He said it was milk," I say shakily.

"Did the milk taste salty-did it leave a residue at the bottom?" Suddenly feeling faint, I realise his description matched the drink Brady gave me at the warehouse.

"I… I don't know," I stammered, "but the drink he gave me looked like that. He said it would make me feel better."

The doctor nodded at the two men, "It sounds most likely like GHB, Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, how much did he give you?" The policeman questioned. "I only drank half a cup, he said it was Fanta." I say worriedly.

"It most likely was Fanta, but mixed with GHB in it." Replied the doctor. "Okay Miss Swan, one last question. How did you get the bruises and scratches all over your arms? From what I was told you narrowly missed being hit by the oncoming car,"

Glancing at my feet I murmur, "I... I'm accident prone. I fall down a lot,"

After all the questions were answered, they finally left the room with the exception of the nurse, "Do you know where my... where Brady is? Is he alright?" I ask calmly.

The nurse frowned and comfortingly placed her hand on mine, "I'm sorry Miss Swan. He didn't make it… He died on impact."

Aunt Siobhan and uncle Liam were promptly notified. To say they were furious was an understatement, they were just glad that there were no charges being filed against me and I was able to go free.

When they arrived at the hospital I was still waiting in the ward.

"I'm sorry about your friend,"

Whipping around I turn to face the door and find an attractive looking man leaning against the frame.

"Oh… me too,"

Walking into the room, he sits down in the chair opposite me. "You don't remember me, do you?" He asks smiling. Shaking my head, I watch as he supports his arms on his thighs, clasping his large hands together. His green eyes penetrating into my skull.

"Oh! You were the driver," I say lamely.

"Mm and you fucked up my car," Cringing I glance at him, "I'm sorry... I'll pay for the damages."

"I seriously doubt you can afford that," Embarrassment washes through me, which I am sure is evident in my cheeks, as I eye my ratty jeans and old T-shirt and only now notice his smooth Armani grey suit.

"Don't you know that children shouldn't play out in the middle of the bloody road, a freeway no less."

"We didn't see you,"

The man snorts, "Obviously." I shrink back, taken away by his brash behaviour.

"And I'm not a child… I'm seventeen," I mutter quietly. After I say this he smirks eying me up and down, causing me to squirm under his scrutiny.

"I know." There's a long silence between us, the only sound coming from outside in the hall. "I never did get your name, to thank you." I say.

Green-eyed man chuckles, "I'm the one who almost kills you and you're fucking thanking me?" He asks astounded. I shrug and stare at my feet dangling off the bed. It someway he had saved me. If he hadn't had crashed into us, then we wouldn't have been interrupted and Brady would have gotten his way with me, but I would never tell him that, let alone anyone else.

There were somethings better left unsaid.

Opening his mouth, he begins to respond but abruptly stops, when my aunt Siobhan and uncle Liam come rushing into the room dressed in their perfect, clean work suits. Furious is not the right word to describe them.

"Isabella Swan," Aunt Siobhan yells, unaware of the forth person in the room, "You deliberately disobeyed me when I had forbade you from going out with that horrid Brady Collins boy, now look where you are!"

At the mention of Brady, the water works that I had thought were gone now reappeared. Like a dog, I let my head hang low ashamed of my behaviour.

"I refuse to send her back to Charlie Swan, Liam! I don't want him getting the last laugh because he thinks we're incapable of being good parents and can't even take care of his seventeen year old daughter! Is that what you want?" She yells furiously at her husband, after uncle Liam suggested sending me back home.

"Is that why you defied me, because you thought I would send you back to your father? Well your clearly mistaken Isabella. When we get home I will deal with you more later."

The sound of a throat clearing causes my aunt and uncle to spin around and turn to face the green-eyed man. I watch as both there eyes widen in shock then turn to worry. Uncle Liam is the first to recover and address the man.

"M-Mr Mason, what brings you here?" He asks. Confusion sets in as I watch the three of them.

How did uncle Liam and aunt Siobhan know him?

"Liam. Siobhan." He says smoothly and gets up from the chair. "I sincerely hope you weren't threatening a child Siobhan, a child who is nonetheless not your own." Aunt Siobhan remains quiet, as he stares her down.

"Of course that's not what she meant Edw-" Green-eyed man glares at him daring him to continue, "Mr Mason." Uncle Liam quickly recovers after realising his mistake.

"Good." Mr Mason nods before smirking, "What a coincidence it was your niece who caused me to crash into a tree and dent my car."

Unable to help myself I mutter, "Or maybe you shouldn't have been speeding,"

The glare he shoots me causes me to cower back and shudder from his gaze. "If you have something to say, say it to my face Isabella. No one likes a smart-mouth." He sighs tiredly.

I watch in awe as Mr Mason casually saunters out of the room before briefly stopping at the door frame, "I expect my car to be fully paid for the damages Liam. Until then, good night Siobhan. And Isabella... I will be seeing you shortly."

Stunned, we watch him leave.

On the drive back home, its quiet. Everyone still to shocked at what happened at the hospital.

As uncle Liam pulls into the driveway, I quickly move to exit the car but aunt Siobhan's cold voice stops me. "What happened tonight is to stay between us. I don't want one word of this to escape to anyone else. Understand?" Nodding my head, I quickly run out of the car and upstairs to my room.

Climbing underneath my covers, I throw them over my head as I beg for sleep to take over me.

Sometime later I hear the faint voices of my aunt and uncle talking down the hall. "Hopefully we can keep Isabella's name out of the papers, then no one will never need to know about this... this little fiasco. It's all that Collins boy fault, he was responsible for everything! Driving around in a stolen motorbike! Imagine! And to make it worse Edward Mason was there!" Aunt Siobhan's voice raises then goes silent.

"All we need to do is keep quiet and pretend this incident never happened. I for one, intend to do just that," I could hear uncle Liam murmur his agreement before everything went quiet.

If Charlie abandoning and sending me off to live with my aunt was bad enough, now Brady's dead because of me. Wrapping my comforter around my shoulders, I quietly cry into my pillow.

There was no need to tell anyone what happened. Randall was sleeping over at a friend's house; Charlotte still wasn't home from her date; and grandma Lucy could barely hear so she probably would have missed all the excitement.

Only aunt Siobhan, uncle Liam and I knew... and of course Edward Mason.

* * *

#Thank you everyone for all the reviews, stories and favourite alerts, they mean so much to me. I'm sorry I haven't responded to any of your reviews, but I do look through all of them and greatly appreciate them. So this is the chapter where Bella and Edward finally meet and hopefully you'll like it and leave me some reviews, even if its a few words or questions and I'll try my hardest to get back to you. Again I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes or such as I don't have a Beta.

#Please Leave Me Some Reviews:) They tell me you like my story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.  
_Warning:_ Dark themes ahead, you've been warned.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

___Chapter Four_

For the next three days, Brady Collins was the talk of the town.

People lamented his early death, wondering how anyone in their community had managed to obtain drugs, and then praised their own children for not being 'like him'.

If only they knew the truth.

All of this commotion only fuelled aunt Siobhan's resolution to keep my involvement with Brady's death a secret. To make matters worse, it was rumoured that a girl was seen riding the stolen motorbike with Brady that night. Since I was a minor, the police had to keep my identity a secret, refusing to give out my name when people questioned who the mystery girl was. But that didn't deter the neighbourhood gossip; it only gave them something more to talk about.

Just like her mother, Charlotte also had reasons to be uneasy. None of us had told her what had happened, but I was quite certain she had own suspicions. Suspicions that she knew that the minor was indeed me. The fact that Brady's death coincided with the same night of my supposedly cancelled date did not go unnoticed by her. It was just too much of a coincidence to be accidental.

In fact, I did little to dissuade Charlotte from thinking otherwise. Aunt Siobhan and uncle Liam may have forgotten that night, but I couldn't. In my eyes, if I hadn't disobeyed aunt Siobhan in the first place by going out on the date, then Brady would still be alive.

But in some morbid way, I felt almost glad that he was dead. I knew I shouldn't have, he was still someone's kid; brother; cousin. I tried to reason with myself that it was just shock, but it wasn't it. Did that make me heartless? A killer even?

My relatives didn't know about the sexual assault, I didn't want them to. They would ignore the issue, that's what they were used to. Hiding behind their expensive designer clothes and money. It was what they new best.

When Monday arrived and I got to school, it seemed that everyone was only interested in talking about 'the mystery girl'. As I walked down the hall to my locker I kept my head down low focusing on my covered feet as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Even though I knew it was impossible for any of them to know that I was the mystery girl, that didn't stop me from feeling super self-conscious, as if they all knew. I tried to reason with myself it was most likely my paranoia that was causing me to imagine these things. That someone would eventually find out what really happened that night.

Walking from one class to the next, I counted down the torturous minutes until I would be able to return to the refuge of my room. Only then did I stop and grimace. Aunt Siobhan had pulled some strings and managed to get me a job at the local library, she thought by getting me a job it would help me to stay out of trouble. I didn't really care to be honest, if it meant not having to spend more time than I would like with grandma Lucy or any other Brennan, then that was fine with me.

"Look at that," I heard a girl comment in front of me, "the drug awareness posters are up again."

"It's because of Brady," replied the guy next to her.

"Tell me about it. My dad keeps staring at me as if I have horns growing at the top of my head, or something. Just because one guy couldn't handle his drugs and gets killed, the rest of us are getting blamed." The guy groaned.

"Tell me about it," The girl sympathized. As the two of them walked away, I felt a sharp tug on my arm causing me to wince in pain as I let a furious Charlotte drag me into an empty classroom.

"You better not say one word about Brady to my friends," she whispered, as if I would ever contemplate otherwise.

Narrowing my eyes at her, I try to jerk my arm out from her fixed grip but it only tightens, "Don't worry," I say, "I won't."

"Just make sure you don't," She threatened before releasing my arm and storming out of the room. Staring after her retreating form I drop onto the chair. It was only then did I realise how truly alone I was. Even after the bell rang signalling for students to go back to class, I stayed rooted where I was.

"Bella, will you please put these books back on the shelves?"

Forcing a smile I nod, "Of course Mrs. Cope,"

Nervously running my hands up and down against my black waist skirt, I move to grab the handles of the book trolley before rolling it towards the middle section of the library.

Sighing, I begin to place the novels back into their rightful positions on the shelves.

I'd never been an avid book reader before, even when I was little. I remember when I was four or five, I refused to go to bed unless dad had tucked me in and told me a bedtime story, but the thing was, I hated it when he would read books to me. So every night instead of reading a bedtime story to me, we would act them out together until we would fall asleep on my bedroom floor still dressed up in our silly costumes and tiaras. That's probably one of the things I miss about dad the most, his childish-playful demeanour.

After I had returned all the books, I walked back towards the front desk and took a seat on the cold stool.

Glancing at the computer screen I noticed it was almost 10 at night. The library was basically deserted at this time of night, and the only people still here were Mrs. Cope and myself. Although I didn't think the library received very much attention anyways.

With nothing to do, I found myself thinking of Mr. Edward Mason. That had been occurring a lot lately without me realising it. After what happened at the hospital I had become somewhat curious wanting to know what it was about Edward Mason that made my aunt and uncle so scared of him.

Gnawing on my bottom lip, I quickly glance up doing a fast survey of the room checking to make sure Mrs. Cope isn't in sight before opening up another tab on the safari and typing in 'Edward Mason' into Google.

Nervously I watch as thousands of different results pop up, lighting the computer screen.

As I scroll down the screen, I browse through the listed sites studying each one until I come across a site that relates to Mr. Mason the most.

It turns out that Edward Junior Anthony Mason was quite the busy man. Being the only child of Elizabeth and Edward Senior Mason, he was born and raised here in Chicago and attended prestigious schools throughout his childhood before heading to Harvard University and majoring in business. At the age of twenty-eight he was now the CEO of a multi-million architecture and mining company that was well known worldwide, owned more than over hundreds of buildings just in Chicago itself, and was one of the most sought out man in the world. It was safe to say that he was indeed a billionaire.

It suddenly made sense why uncle Liam and aunt Siobhan were so cautious in front of him; he was one of the most popular man in the world and could ruin them within seconds.

The man even had his own Wikipedia page.

Clicking on an image of him, I waited patiently as it enlarged covering my computer screen. I had never really looked at him before at the hospital, probably because I was still to shocked after discovering Brady's death. But now I was able to truly appreciate his appearance. From his auburn hair, to his muscular build at 6 ft in height, he really was good-looking. I don't know how I didn't notice this before. As I analysed him further, his eyes still stuck out the most. Although they were a dark shade of green it wasn't the colour of them that caused me pause, it was the way his smouldering eyes penetrated into you causing you to stop and shiver from their gaze.

Hearing foot steps behind me I quickly close the tab. "You can go home if you want Bella, I'll close up," Smiling I grab my bag and head towards the entrance of the door, "Thank you Mrs. Cope," I say gratefully, the old lady nods and shoots me a tiny smile, "See you tomorrow, Dear."

Walking out into the empty street, I wrap my arms around myself starting the long trek back home. It probably would have been a good idea to get my driver's license when I had turned sixteen, but I never thought I would need it. Back at Forks everything was within walking distance, and if not you either rode your bike or caught a lift with someone.

Walking on the footpath alongside the road, I focus my gaze at the ground kicking small rocks whenever I come across one.

"Haven't you learnt from the last incident not to stroll around at night time?"

Turning swiftly on my heels I gasp, "M-Mr. Mason! What are you doing here?"

Shrugging he walks towards to me, "Had business to take care of, what's your excuse?" He asks.

"I just finished work, I'm heading home now actually." I watch as he advances closer. "And I was on the foot path… So I'm allowed to stroll if I want." I retort back. He stops and raises an eyebrow at me.

"I see that attitude of yours still hasn't changed,"

Frowning I watch as he bends his head close to mine, till our foreheads are almost touching. I hoped he didn't noticed the way my breathing quickened, but the smirk plastered on his face tells me otherwise. "That mouth of your will get you into trouble little girl, I'd be careful if I were you." He whispers into my ear, before straightening his stance. As he bypasses me, he ignores my wondering eyes before walking towards a black sleek car and opens the door.

"How are you getting home?" His voice is distant, cold.

"I'll walk, it's not far from here. Just a fifteen or twenty minute walk," I mumble through my cold lips. He looks longingly down the road before huffing and reaching for his door handle.

"Get in the car."

The harshness of his tone takes me by surprise, but then again I should be used to it. "Excuse me,"

Looking up from the car he glares at me, "Get in the car." He repeats slowly. "I'm fine, I can walk. It's not even that fa-" I stop midway, faltering backwards watching as Mr. Mason strides over to me and pulls me by the arm forcibly dragging me towards his car.

"Hey! Lemme' go!" Using my feet I try to plant them to the ground, but when that doesn't work I start tugging my arm back and use my other arm to shove his shoulder.

We're suddenly at the side of the passenger door before he roughly pushes me against the car so my back is pressed against the cold metal. "Ow! Stop, you're hurting me," I whimper. His face becomes very close to mine until I have no choice but to look him in the eye. "Stop fucking fighting me. And if you ever hit me again I won't be held responsible for my actions."

Stepping backwards, he quickly opens the door and thrusts me onto the seat, "You don't have to be so pushy…" I grumble crossing my arms over my chest. As I unhappily wait for him, I hear him slam the door shut before rushing towards the drivers seat. When Mr. Mason re-enters the car he ignores me, muttering curse words along the way, no doubt aimed at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him briefly glance at me before rolling his eyes and starting the engine. I was sure I must have resembled a very annoyed child, but I couldn't help it if he kept treating me like one.

"Where do you live?" He asks. After giving him my address he speeds towards my street. The silence is uncomfortable, and I try to resist the urge to stick my tongue at him. Was I being childish? Yes, but it couldn't be helped. Not when you're stuck with a man as infuriating as Edward Mason.

"Has anyone ever told you, you're bossy?" I ask.

"Has anyone ever told you, you're annoying?" He bites back.

"Well, you're infuriating!"

"And you're childish!"

Biting my tongue I force myself to keep quiet. When we finally arrive in front of the Brennan driveway I quickly jump out of the car, "Thank you for the lift, _Edward_…" I watch in glee as his face scrunches up in annoyance, "but I was perfectly capable of walking home. "

"I was just being chivalrous. Young girls shouldn't be out alone in the middle of the night," He said sweetly.

"Well, like I said… I would have been fine. I have my pepper spray," I make a show of grabbing my little tube and showing it to him. The corner of his mouth twitches, "Pepper spray only works on pussies Isabella," he says staring at me, "It takes more than that to bring a real man down."

Feeling brave I ask, "And which one are you?"

Smirking, he replies confidently, "Definitely a man,"

~x~

"I want extra precautions around all our boarders, meaning nothing gets in or out. Whoever is leaking information to the Russian's are obviously covering up all their tracks."

"What about the shipments and all the stolen goods?" Someone asked.

"I've already taken care of that. We'll be using different routes to transport our shipments that only few people know about,"

"But how do you know it's the Russian's?"

Senior snapped his head so fast in the direction of the voice before glaring at him. "Are you doubting me?" He asked darkly. When no answer was given he continued. "If I find that any of you know something or are going behind my back... You'll regret it."

After a long pause Emmett asked, "So what do you want us to do if we find them?"

Senior leaned back into his leather chair, pulling out a cigar from his desk draw before lighting it up and exhaling out a cloud of smoke.

"Kill them... But I want the leader,"

After the meeting had finished everyone left the room, the exclusion of Edward, Emmett and Santiago, as they stayed where they were, going over their meeting. "I don't trust them," Edward stated plainly, that didn't surprise the others though. They were used to Edward's trust problems.

"I don't either, but until we know who's feeding out our private information we can't do anything about it." Senior said stubbing his cigar and moving to stand up.

"I'll see you boys later, and don't forget about the banquet on Saturday night." At saying this both Junior and Emmett groaned, "Your mother will have both of your heads if she discovers that you purposely missed it."

Edward stayed seated in his chair watching as his father and Santiago swiftly exited the room. "That guy gives me the creeps," Emmett said as he closed the door behind them. "He's all right I guess," Edward shrugged. Santiago had always been part of the family for as long as he could remember. He was very much to Senior what Emmett was to Edward. Except quieter.

"How's your head anyways?" Emmett asked referring to the car accident. When Edward had no choice but to call Emmett to pick him up he had explained what had happened, and the whole time all he could hear were the sounds of Emmett laughing only managing to say it probably was his fault seeing as he had an issue with the speed limit.

Edward flipped him the bird. "Cunt…"

"Pussy,"

Edward shook his head before lighting a cigarette, "You wouldn't believe who I saw today," Emmett raised his eye brow questioningly, "The same girl who I almost ran over on Friday night, Isabella,"

Emmett whistled, "Damn, what are the chances… What did you do?" He asked.

"What could I do, I was finishing up a job in Maine and she was right there. I had to get both of us out there before the cops arrived."

"Since when did you care who gets caught or not?" In the many years that Emmett had known Edward he had become somewhat in-tuned with his erratic behaviour, and it was a well known fact that Edward Junior did not ever care for the well-being of others but himself.

"I don't," Edward says defensively, "But she could have saw something and ratted me out,"

"A-huh, sure." Emmett smiled unconvinced. After a few minutes of silence Edward couldn't take anymore of Emmett's staring. "What are you fucking staring at?" He snapped. Emmett feigned innocence sticking his hands up.

"Whatever, I'm outta' here." Exiting the room, Edward quickly came down the stairs taking three steps at a time. Unfortunately he wasn't so lucky and before he could turn around and walk back up, his mother spotted him calling for his attention.

"Edward! Did your father remind you about the banquet on Saturday night? I told him to tell you because I knew you would most likely forget or try get out of it, so I took it upon myself to get your tux ready which should arrive later today by the way. And don't forget to bring a girl. I can arrange for someone to go with you if you want, my friend's daughter is about your age and I think you guys would get along perfectly."

Edward stared at his mum, "Everything's being taken care of mum, just relax." He said as he tried to sidestep his mum and head out the door, "Oh, but who are you going to bring?" Elizabeth inquired nosily, walking faster to keep up with him. Edward frowned before responding, "A friend."

Elizabeth's brows narrowed, "What sort of friend?" She asked before sighing, "You know I don't condone that sort of behaviour Edward. It's bad enough that your father owns a strip club, and I don't think I want my son parading around with a slut on his arm."

Before she could launch into another discussion, Edward turned around placing both his hands on each side of her shoulders. "Mum, relax. I'll find someone to take who isn't a whore… Happy?"

Elizabeth huffed, "I guess… But I'd be more happy if you found a girlfriend, got married and gave me grandkids." Edward chuckled, "There's still plenty of time for… that later, mum,"

"Look I've gotta go ma, business and stuff," Mrs. Mason sighed before patting her son on the cheek. "You know I hate you working with the mafia. My baby could get hurt." She frowned.

Elizabeth was barely involved with the family business since Senior made sure that she knew little about them. He didn't want to risk putting her in danger so he always kept her out of the loop. Not that she minded because she hated the idea of it altogether. She hated the fact that her husband and son were stuck in this crazy lifestyle and there was nothing she could do. Although that didn't stop her from making comments now and again.

"Don't start ma,"

"Oh please Edward," She begged, "Your father never tells me anything." Pouting she looks up at her son.

"For a good reason to." Kissing her goodbye on the forehead, he steps out of the house before getting into the car and heading east.

As Edward speeded down the highway he found himself thinking of his conversation earlier with Emmett. He wasn't completely coldhearted, he thought. But in an industry as dangerous as this one, you couldn't afford to let your emotions get in the way of your work, after all it could cause you your life.

Parking in front of a rundown cottage he walked over towards the sloped basement door on the ground before hitting the side of it twice with his shoe. The wooden doors opened revealing a set of blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. "Mason." He smiled.

Edward led himself down the steps hearing the door shut behind him. The basement looked every bit like a teenage boy room, posters were strewn across the walls, dirty laundry was piling up and there was an awful smell that Edward couldn't place.

"Haven't you ever head of a bloody air freshener?" Edward asked, his nose wrinkling in distaste.

Jasper Whitlock looked at him with a straight face before walking towards the corner of his room.

"What do you want Mason?" He asked, plonking himself onto his desk chair his eyes had already glued back to his computer screen. Edward had to be slightly in awe every time he came here. No one was well equipped as Jasper when it came to technology; he had the latest gadget of everything and at least four different computers, just for work. Jasper was basically there go-to guy if they ever wanted background information or anything else in general.

"I want a background check on someone named Isabella. I want to know everything about her." Edward stated taking a stance behind him watching as the big screen lit up.

"Sure, do you know her last name?" Jasper asked, turning the screen on and off precisely three times. Edward was used to his OCD tendencies by now.

"No, but she lives with her aunt and uncle. Siobhan and Liam Brennan."

Nodding he typed away furiously. That's what Edward liked about him the most, he just did as he was told no questions asked.

"Her name is Isabella Swan. Birthday is September 13th 1989. Born in Chicago but shortly moved to Forks Washington DC with her father, Charlie Swan, who was recently diagnosed with Dementia. Mother died giving birth." Jasper continued, reading the list of the screen, "She's clean, hasn't even gotten her drivers license yet."

Edward stared at the screen a bit longer skimming through her details before chucking out a wad of cash onto the desk. "Can you get this E-mailed to me?"

Jasper shot him a dirt look as if he had just been deeply offended. "I've already sent it to you."

"Good. Pleasure doing business with you Whitlock,"

"The pleasure is all mine," Jasper said folding the notes into little squares before tucking them into his pocket.

When Edward finally arrived home in his penthouse apartment, he turned all the lights off before jumping into bed with a bottle of whisky and a cigarette. Blowing out a cloud of smoke, he noticed his Armani tuxedo had arrived hanging on his adjoined bathroom door.

Grabbing his iPhone he went through his contacts until he found someone that was decent.

She answered on the first ring. "Senna, I have a banquet Saturday night so you need to get a dress."

On the other line Senna replied, "What if I have something else on Saturday night?"

Edward frowned, he hated when girls played games with him. "Fine, I can always get someone else." As he was going to hang up she yelled, "No! I'll go," Edward smirked. Girls were so easy to manipulate.

"Good, I'll pick you up at 6pm sharp." He said before hanging up. The last time there had been a formal gathering he had told his date to be ready at 7, but by the time she had finished and came downstairs to meet him in the foyer he had already left without her. It was safe to say that Edward Mason was not a very patient person and did not wait for anyone.

Going through his mail he opened the file labeled 'Isabella Swan'. He noticed that there were even pictures of her including photos throughout her childhood. Chuckling he went through them. Some people may have called him a stalker, but he preferred the term 'intrigued'.

There was something about her that made him tick. In a good way.

* * *

#Thank you everyone for the reviews, favourites and alerts! I'm so glad that you're all enjoying the story as much as I am. I'm afraid though I might not be able to post anything up for the next two and a half weeks due to my exams but after that I will be able to. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, they mean a lot to me and even though I don't respond to them I do read each one. Someone asked whether Edward would cheat on her and the answer is no not that I know of, and also there won't be a POV from Edward's side, maybe later on but not at the moment. If you have any questions just ask:) Sorry if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes.

#Please Leave Some Reviews:) They're much appreciated


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.  
_Warning:_ Dark themes ahead, you've been warned.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

___Chapter Five_

After my last encounter with Mr. Mason I couldn't deny my growing attraction for him. There was something about him that caused my stomach to flutter in anticipation, making me feel like a twelve-year-old girl with an infatuated crush. It didn't help that he suddenly seemed to appear everywhere I looked; on television, in the newspapers, on the front cover of magazines. Don't get me wrong, I still found _Edward_ to be egotistical and overbearing, but the most handsomest and compelling man I've ever seen.

Addressing him by his first name still took some time getting used to though. From what I knew and heard, he was very much a private person with a really short temper. Not typically the kind of guy that I usually went for.

I didn't bother telling aunt Siobhan that Edward Mason had dropped me back home Monday night after work. She was too busy worrying about the upcoming banquet anyways. Apparently they were big things here.

When everyone in the household had arrived home Tuesday evening-the day after I saw Edward-uncle Liam had informed us that his company was holding a banquet ball that we all had to attend. According to aunt Siobhan, only the most 'respected and well known' people would be there. I could already feel my face flushing knowing that there was a chance that I would see Edward there.

"Have you found a dress yet for tomorrow night, Dear?" Mrs. Cope asks peering over the top of her glasses. Mrs. Cope reminded me of a relative in some ways, she was everything that aunt Siobhan wasn't. She understood my hardships and most importantly, the society that I had to partake in. Plus, I had always found it easier to make friends with people older then me, compared to teenagers my own age. Back in Forks, most of my closest friends were a lot older.

"No," I shake my head, "I have nothing to wear in my wardrobe that my aunt counts as appropriate for a banquet, and I don't have any money to buy a new dress yet," I sigh, defeatedly chewing on my thumb.

Mrs. Cope stares at me sympathetically, "Maybe your cousin can lend you a dress,"

Mustering a smile I reply, "Yeah… Maybe." Charlotte would never lend me one of her dresses so I wasn't even going to bother asking. She repeatedly liked to inform me how out-of-date and appalling my clothes were, unlike her new designer ones.

After checking-out some books for a family of three, I quickly resume walking back and forth among the bookshelves placing books back as I go. Getting me a job at the library was probably the best thing that my aunt has done for me since I had arrived in Chicago. And even though books weren't my favourite things they were starting to grow on me, just like the library. You could have called it my haven I guess.

When the clock hit 9:30, I waved goodbye to Mrs. Cope before stepping outside the threshold of the library door only to stop and pause, gasping in shock.

"Oh!"

Less then nine ft. away from me stood Edward Mason. He was donned in a charcoal grey suit as he casually leaned against the hood of his car; with a lit cigarette dangling in one hand while the other was tucked into his dress pants.

It's hard to believe that a man this good-looking held so much power within the society. But then again, it shouldn't have surprised me.

"Are you following me?" I blurt out, then immediately slap my hands over my mouth.

Smirking, he beckons me towards him with a slight tilt of his head. As if he's proposing a challenge.

Letting my hands drop to my sides, I take in a shuddering breath before slowly walking towards him until I'm less then an arms length away. Taking one last drag he blows out a cloud of smoke into my face, causing my eyes to water and a string of coughing fits to arise from within my throat.

Through teary-eyes, I watch him drop the cigarette to the pavement before he crosses his arms over his chest.

"You shouldn't smoke, its bad for you." I say softly, looking down at the ground. Seconds later I hear him shuffling to his feet, and feel the nudge of a finger pushing my chin upwards gently but firmly, until I'm gazing back into his smouldering eyes. "There are a lot of bad things in the world Isabella… Smoking is the least of your worries."

Frowning, I try to decipher his deeper meaning behind the words when cold fingertips faintly brush over the creases on my forehead, "Smile, Baby-girl." And I do, because when someone tells me to smile, I smile.

"What are you doing here, Edward?" I finally ask the question that's been pestering to be answered. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," He chuckles at his own joke, which I note has a semi-serious tone to it.

Raising an eyebrow at him, he sighs and shrugs. "I was passing by…"

I didn't believe him for a second, but I wasn't going to push for the truth.

"Okay well, um… I-It was nice to see you again?" I question rather then say goodbye. After an awkward jerk of my hand, I swiftly turn on my heels incase I said or did something embarrassing that I would regret later.

I'm barely able to walk far when I feel the familiar tugging on my blouse causing me to stumble mid-step. Letting out an irritated huff, I whip around to glare at him. "Why is it that whenever I see you, you feel likes it's always necessary to man-handle me?" I ask angrily. "Can't you just order me around or… ask, like a normal person."

He watches me with amusement before replying, "Maybe I like to see you get riled up?"

Huffing I cross my arms over my cold chest, "You're so annoying," I mumble. In response he smiles, making me stop and stare. It hasn't occurred to me until now, that I've never actually seen him smile before. I watch as his eyes alight and somehow he generally appears to be younger, like he isn't carrying the whole world on his shoulders anymore. Even on the tabloids and television, his smile is somehow different… fake, forced.

As if a button was flicked off inside of him, he frowns realising what he has done and clears his throat. "How are you getting home?" And just like that, the small happy glimpse of him I saw was gone, replaced with the stoic, grumpy one instead.

"Walking," I say hesitantly.

Walking towards the curb where his car is parked parallel to, he opens the passenger door gesturing for me to get into the car. "I can wa-" He interrupts me before I'm able to finish my sentence.

"Just get in the fucking car. I don't have all day,"

He leaves me standing in the middle of the sidewalk as I eye him, mentally calculating my chances of being able to bypass him and run home.

"Don't bother, Isabella. I'd just catch you and drag you back myself," staring at him, I inwardly wonder whether he was able to read my mind for a second.

"Lets go."

Climbing into his plush, warm car I nervously start to chew on my nails as I sneak in quick glances of Edward through my hair bangs, when I think he doesn't notice.

"Edward… you missed the street," I say, as we pass my street entirely and his driving only increases. He turns his head towards me unaffected by the roads in front of him, "Have you had dinner yet?" Shaking my head, I eye the steering wheel. "Mr. Ma-Edward, the road…" I stutter.

Rolling his eyes, he turns them back towards the road before parking in front of a small restaurant. Confused, I look to the restaurant and back to him, "What are we doing here?" I ask.

Unbuckling his seat belt he opens the door, "C'mon,"

Following his lead I get out of the car to stand next to him, slightly startled when I feel a set of warm hands palmed against the bend of my back, as he nudges me forward.

"How many seats would you like, Sir?"

"Two."

The male host smiles before directing us to an open table in the middle of the restaurant. As I move to sit down, Edward grips me around the waist effectively stopping me in place. "Is there somewhere else we can sit… in private." He demands, glancing back towards the private booths at the back of the restaurant.

The host nods, leading us to an empty booth. Sliding onto the seat, I catch Edward slipping the man a twenty before joining me and sitting in the seat across from me. "You still haven't told me what we're doing here?" I question.

"You haven't had dinner yet and neither have I," He responds, shrugging out of his charcoal suit-jacket. There's a brief silence as we study our menus before quickly relaying our orders back to the eager female waitress who ogles Edward shamelessly. I feel my stomach lurch at her obvious behaviour, then wonder whether I do that.

"You weren't really passing by were you." I state rhetorically.

Raising an eyebrow at me he rests his arms against the table top and leans forward, "You wanna' know the truth?" He asks before continuing, "I lied."

Copying his position I lean onto the table, "I wanted to see you." He states. Shocked at his new revealment, I try not to squeal like the inner girl within me, "Re-Really…"

He nods, "There's something about you, that I find… intriguing."

"Is that good?" Suddenly I'm aware of the close proximity between us, as our heads are bent down together like a lover's embrace.

"It's," He pauses, trying to find the right words, "… Refreshing." The sound of a throat clearing interrupts us, causing me to pull away from Edward fast. A frowning Edward leans back, watching as the waiters place our food onto the table.

"Eat." He orders when he sees I'm about to ask him something, "We'll talk later," Biting my lip I nod quickly devouring my food.

Forty minutes later Edward's paid for dinner-much to my dismay-and we're back in his car. "Home now?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could drop me off at the shops, if that's alright? I need to buy something,"

"For the banquet?" I gape at him, "How did yo-" But I don't bother to finish my sentence when he gives me the do-you-really-want-to-know look, "Your going, right?" I ask instead.

He nods, "Of course, my parents are one of the fundraisers so I have to go."

The car ride there is silent after that, as I fidget with the ends of my hair.

By the time we arrive the streets are quiet and only a few people remain behind, browsing in the shops. When I turn to say thank you he's already getting out of the car and running to open my door for me. "You don't have to come with me, I might take a while."

"And leave you all by yourself," He scoffs, "No fucking offence, but I don't think your pepper spray will work," Rolling my eyes at him, I walk into Macy's leaving him in my trail when it was obvious that he wouldn't leave.

"Overbearing, bossy man…" I mutter under my breath. Browsing through the dresses I run my hands over the soft, satin material, stopping when I come across a white, long-laced dress. Pulling it off from the hanger I hold it to my chest gazing into the reflection of the mirror.

"Why don't you try it on?" Jumping in surprise, I turn around to catch Edward gazing at me as I shake my head, "Oh no, I don't-" But Edward cuts me off, asking the sales lady where the change rooms are before I'm being ushered into a little room.

Glancing at the dress, I sigh stripping to my bras and panties. Seeing as I was already here I might as well try it on, I decide. Carefully slipping into the dress-so I don't pinch the material-I push my arms through the sleeves then realise I need someone else to zip me up from the back.

Unlocking the door I poke my head out, mentally groaning when I only find Edward there sitting on the leather chairs provided and no sales lady insight. "Edward," I call out shakily. He whips his head towards my voice, already on his feet, "I need you to zip me up from the back, please."

Turning around I feel him hover behind me, arousing goose bumps to form all over my shoulders. As he zips the dress up, I feel his hands lingering on my neck longer then necessary, before gently grabbing me by the hand and pulling me to the middle of the room.

"You look beautiful, Baby-girl." Following his lead I gaze into the wall length mirror. The dress was beautiful, complementing my figure as the material gathered at the bottom of my feet. The next thing I noticed was how small I looked beside him, barely reaching up to his chest. I feel my breath catch when I look at Edward, he's always been gorgeous but something about him catches my attention, maybe it was the intensity look on his face as he gazed into our reflection.

_Longing_...

"You two make a handsome couple," Our little bubble is suddenly gone as I feel him pull away again. "We're not a couple." He says firmly, but quickly. Mustering a smile I nod my agreement, but deep down I try to push away the feeling of disappointment racking through my body. Why would he want a teenager when he could have anyone else he wants, I think dejectedly.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I just assumed," The brunette head stutters.

"Well don't." Edward snaps, "Isabella, I'll meet you outside." He doesn't wait for an answer before striding out of the store.

The sales assistant turns to me but I wave her off, "It's alright, you didn't know." She quickly excuses herself before dispersing from the change room.

"I don't even know what's going on…" I mumble to an empty room. Peeking into the mirror one more time I admire the dress. It was beautiful, no doubt about it. I couldn't help but think back to Edward's reaction less than five minutes ago, when I first came out of the change room donned in the elegant white dress. He made me feel like Cinderella, as if I mattered and wasn't some problem that weighed onto his shoulders unlike my father or relatives. The old me, would have never even dared to try on dresses like these, it wasn't me, but it seemed that Chicago was changing me. Whether I liked it or not.

Toying with the sleeves, I find the price tag and sigh. It was nowhere within my budget range and I would rather die then ask money from Charlotte or aunt Siobhan. Walking back into the change room, I quickly take off the dress and place it back onto the hanger. As I exit out of the room I come across a different sales assistant who smiles pleasantly at me, "Good evening Miss, have you decided whether you'd like to buy the dress?" The blonde sale assistant asks.

"Hi, um no thank you. It was beautiful though," Handing the dress back to her I'm sad to see it go. It truly was a stunning a dress. "That's a shame, it was the last one in stock."

After a quick goodbye I exit the store heading back towards the car. There was no point to continue shopping, I knew I wouldn't find anything appropriate to wear to the banquet that was cheap, and looked just as good as the white-laced dress. Groaning, it looked like I would have to suck it up and ask Charlotte to borrow one.

As I slide back into the car Edward's looking out through his tinted windows. "Where to?" His voice is distant, like he's not really here. "Home I guess,"

I can feel his gaze on me but I refuse to meet him back. "You didn't buy the dress." He says observing my lack of bags. "It wasn't within my budget range,"

"Did you like it?" He inquires. Shrugging I play with my hair, "It was pretty." He doesn't say anything else but starts the car, making the short journey home. When we arrive in front of the Brennan mansion I pause, my hand resting against the door handle. "Thank you for everything Edward, it was really nice of you."

Before I shut the door I stop when I hear my name being called out, "I'll see you tomorrow night, Isabella."

"It's Bella," I say quickly, watching as his face forms into a cute frown in confusion. "My friend's call me Bella." I explain.

"You count me as your friend?" He asks. "Your about the only one here in Chicago I can rely on right now." I realise how sad that sounds once I've said it, "So yeah, I guess I do think of you as my friend."

He rests his head against his head rest and closes his eyes., "You shouldn't be friends with me… I'm not good,"

Closing my eyes, I realise he must be trying to let me down gently. Biting my tongue I force back the tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Haven't I've had enough rejection for a life time. I didn't really blame him I guess; everything else good in my life never seemed to last long, it was only a matter of time.

"I get it, you don't have to explain yourself… Bye Edward." I don't wait for answer before I rush out of the car and into the house to my room, glad that I managed to dodge a nosy grandma and a chaotic aunt and cousin.

After showering I head to bed wrapping myself in my comforter as my eyes fight to stay open. I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow, but there was no way aunt Siobhan would let me stay behind. She'd just threaten me to come instead. Sometimes, it was easier to go along then argue, it's not like I'm planning to stay here long anyways. I hadn't told anyone, but I'd been saving up money to escape once I turn eighteen in September. There was nothing holding me back here in Chicago, staying here was only temporarily.

When I finally start to drift to sleep, the last thing I hear is the sound of my door opening and Charlotte's steady footsteps echoing in the hall.

~x~

Saturday morning, the day of banquet, the house is in chaos. Aunt Siobhan is making last minutes phone calls, Charlotte is basically glued to the bathroom, Randall is doing God's knows what and uncle Liam… He was dressed in his favourite printed palmed tree shorts whilst sipping his beer and watching NFL. As for me, I tried to stay out of everyone's way.

I tried to approach aunt Siobhan multiple times to tell her that I didn't have a dress but she would wave me off, and when I finally did get the chance to tell her and propose that I could stay at home instead she yelled at me, "You're going and that's final! For God's sake just ask Charlotte for a dress! I don't have time for this." She replies angrily before her eyes widened, "No Louise, I wasn't talking to you," She says as she walks off.

Grudgingly I walk around the house for hours, trying to prolong as much time as I can without asking help for Charlotte.

Luckily my problems were solved when I received a parcel in the afternoon.

After hesitantly picking up the parcelled envelope left outside the front door, I run to my room locking the door behind me. Climbing onto my bed, I slowly peel one side of the envelope open taking a peek of the contents inside and gasp. Clambering off from my bed I pull out the soft, silk material along with me until it's pressed up against my body.

Staring at the mirror I hug the white-laced dress to me, twirling around in circles as I do so. When I stop twirling around I notice a small note that must have dropped out from when I took the dress out of the envelope. Bending down to pick it up I read the message aloud, "A beautiful girls deserves the beautiful dress. See you tonight Baby-girl"

Smiling I shake my head, "Edward," Glancing at the clock I realise that I now only have a few hours to get ready before we have to leave. As I rush towards the bathroom, I ignore the loud protests from Charlotte.

By 7:00, we've finally arrived at the banquet an hour later then we were supposed to-aunt Siobhan called it 'fashionably late'.

Touching the bottoms of my half-up curled hair, I trail behind the Brennan's as they make their rounds greeting and making polite conversation with all the other rich people.

Throughout the first hour I do my best trying to stay unnoticed, which isn't that hard considering that aunt Siobhan is too busy sucking-up to the First Lady. I roll my eyes at her lame attempt of appearing interested in their conversation and the sound of her forced laugh ringing along with the rest of the group.

As I stand towards the side of the room trying to emerge with the white background, I take a few minutes admiring the set up of the banquet. I was able to recognise the old features of the Chicago History Museum as we entered the building when we had first arrived. It looked beautiful, but then again it was my first time at a banquet so I couldn't really compare it. Shifting my weight from one leg to the other, I wish that my aunt had let me wear my ballet flats instead of a pair of Charlotte's ridiculously high high-heels.

Speaking of Charlotte I spot her surrounded by a group of guys and girls, smiling and laughing. I felt so out of place, wearing an expensive dress, hair styled and make-up applied professionally. This was her type of scenery after all, not mine.

As if she read my mind, she meets my gaze looking directly at me before her lips form into a cunning smile, as if to rub it in my face.

Tearing my eyes away from her, I continue to scan the room until they land on a familiar bronze hair. I feel my whole body stiffening as I watch Edward conversing with people. But it's not due to the way his eyes find mine through the crowd, but because of the attractive black haired woman glued to his side.

Forcing a smile, I softly greet the passing people before I head to the bathroom. I spend a considerable amount of time in the toilet, checking my phone, then fixing my hair and make-up. When the ladies start giving me weird looks when they realise that I haven't yet left the bathroom in the last ten minutes, I finally pick up my clutch and leave.

Walking towards the spacious hall where everyone is gathered, I pass a dark lit room and my curiosity gets the better of me. Hesitating I enter, it's not like anyone would notice if I was gone for a few minutes.

Leaving the door slightly ajar, I stroll to the middle of the room pausing to look at the artificial objects being held within the glass boxes.

"I see you got the dress,"

I jump in surprise turning around to give Edward a dirty look. "Shouldn't you make a noise when you enter a room."

"What makes you think I wasn't already in here first?" He asks.

"Do you always have to answer a question with a question?" He smirks, "Don't you?"

I roll my eyes at him, "You could at least say hi instead of scaring me all the time." As soon as I say this he stalks closer towards me, "I scare you." He states, not questioning. Shrugging I reply, "No…" My voice wavers as he approaches closer, "Maybe… Only when you suddenly show up at random times, like now. "

He's suddenly up in my face, his hands touching my cheek. "Hi," His breath splays against my ear, "I did tell you yesterday that I would be here."

"You mean before or after you told me that you didn't want to be friends." He quickly cuts me off, "I said that it wouldn't be good for you, not that I don't want to be your friend."

"You don't seem to have that problem with your date," I snort, not caring how un-lady like that must sound. Edward sighs, his hands resting on the crook of my neck. "She's no one, trust me. And anyways, I prefer brunettes," He smiles, causing my insides to melt into puddles.

"Do you use that on girls all the time?" I ask breathlessly. "No, just you Baby-girl." I realise now that, that had been the third or forth time he had addressed me by 'Baby-girl', not that I minded of course. Whenever he said it, it caused tingles to run through my body.

"Why do you call me that?" I ask, cocking my head to the side.

"What?" The expression on his face can only be described as confusion, as if he doesn't even realise he's voluntarily calling me by it.

"Baby-girl… Why do you call me that?"

"'Cuz you are," That's all he says before changing the subject. "So what's a beautiful girl like you, hiding in a dark room like this?" He questions.

"It's not really my thing. I've never been into dressing up and I only came because my aunt made me," I shrug, "You?"

He copies my shrug, "I came because I was forced to," I nod in understanding, "Your parents right." He replies with a yes. There's a few minutes of awkward silence when none of us know what to say.

"I better go…" I trail off but pause when he stills me by the waist.

Bending down Edward runs his nose over the length of my throat, before my head falls back in pleasure and my eyes flutter shut in bliss.

"What are you-" But Edward shushes me quiet. "Just feel Baby-girl,"

Everything else I had done so far had led me to making bad decisions since my arrival in Chicago, so I guess it wouldn't have mattered if I did something that I would most likely regret tomorrow. I would think about it when the time came.

Lost in my thoughts, I wasn't prepared for a set of warm yet urgent lips crushing against my own. Shocked, my mouth falls slightly opens as Edward finds this as an opportunity to stick his tongue in my mouth, running it along the inside of my lip.

Pulling back he whispers, "Relax," Before placing soft butterfly kisses against my lips, then covering them with his own.

When I'm able to gain my senses, I hesitantly start to kiss him back softly flicking my tongue against his. Suddenly, his callous hands reach out to grab me roughly by the hair only to kiss me harder.

Wrapping my arms around his shoulders we continue to kiss like this, our mouths moving rapidly against each other and our tongues fighting for dominance. I let out a surprised gasp when he suddenly ducks down taking me by surprise and lifting me up by my thighs, walking us forwards until we come into contact with an antique desk. When he rests me down against the smooth, cold surface we're at the same level making it easier for me to pull his head down closer to mine. When I start to lose my breath, he briefly breaks away trailing kisses down my throat before returning them to my eager lips.

"You are so fucking perfect, Baby-girl," He moans into my mouth, letting out a guttural groan when I accidentally brush my leg against the bulge in his pants-which turns out to be quite big.

"Fuck! I need to touch you, say yes," He begs resting his forehead against my own, his chest heaving and eyes wild.

"Yes," I whimper, reaching down to grip his shirt not caring whether I wrinkled it or not. "Please Edward,"

Shifting my dress so it was bunched up against my waist, Edward runs his hands up my legs creeping closer to my core. "I-I don't know what to do?" I ask unsure, placing my hand above his to stop his movement.

"Just do what comes naturally Baby-girl, its alright."

Nodding, I take my hand off his before rewrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in-between the crook of his shoulder and neck. Blushing I curse myself for putting on a set of plain looking panties, realising how childish my heart printed ones must have looked to him.

But the moment his fingers come into contact with my wet flesh I forget everything, letting out a squeal.

"Oh God, Edward please…" I didn't even know what I was begging for.

I feel his lips pressing against the side of my head but I'm all to aware of his long fingers brushing my curled hairs apart then resuming to stroking my folds up and down, spreading my wetness with his fingers.

"Edward!" I squeal.

His gently probes the tip of his index finger into me slowly pumping in and out, giving me time to adjust before pushing in further.

At first I jerk away from the unnatural feeling of having something being stuck up my core but Edward holds me in place, slowly pushing in and out until I become accustom to the feeling and it starts to feel good.

"Oh God, oh God,"

I grind against his fingers, as he now steadily pushes them in and out his pace rapidly increasing.

"You're so fucking tight Baby-girl," He says hotly against my cheek, "Do you like me fucking your pussy with my fingers?" I cry out wordlessly, "Just wait until I replace them with my cock Baby-girl. I'll fuck you so hard until you'll be begging me to stop."

He starts pushing a second finger into me, as I arch my chest into him feeling myself being stretched. Two fingers now, he thrusts them forcibly into me, using the pad of his thumb to rub circles into my clit whilst pumping furiously.

Starting to feel a coiling pressure build up inside of me I grasp Edward by the hair. "Its okay... Let it go." He murmurs, cupping one hand around my breast he runs his thumb over my nipple causing it to harden underneath his touch.

Suddenly I feel my legs shaking as I try to shut them together to keep the tightening pressure there, but Edward refuses removing the hand from my breast and forcing my thighs apart whilst still constantly thrusting his fingers deeper into me.

"Oh my god," I cry into his shoulder, "Oh yeah… Edward, please…"

He crooks his fingers inside of me hitting a sensitive ball of nerves, as I feel my body go slack and a scream starting to build up. Never had I felt such a strong intensity before.

Crushing his mouth against mine he tries to cover my screams, as my body convulses underneath him, the tightness inside of me uncurling as I shatter into a million pieces. He continues his abuse on my vagina never slowing down or stopping, as I lay a quivering mess on my back against the cold surface still feeling the post after affects. After a while I sluggishly slap Edward's hand away, too sensitive from his touch.

"Fuck! I can't wait till I can fuck you Baby-girl," He moans mostly to himself.

After a few moments, I feel a warm set of hands pulling my arms away so they're not covering my face, before he rearranges me so I'm sitting up straight to pull my dress back down my legs. Gripping my hand, he places it on his shoulders before helping me off the desk and onto my own feet.

Unfortunately I'm still a shaking mess needing Edward's help to keep me upright.

"What about you?" I ask softly, eying his obvious arousal. I notice his pupils are heavily dilated with lust, but he just smirks, "Next time." He promises.

After a few minutes when we're able to compose ourselves, we cautiously exit out of the room making sure that no one saw us. Glancing at Edward through the corner of my eye I notice the crumpled marks on his white button-up shirt, causing me to giggle quietly to myself when I realise that I was the one who did that. Ignoring Edward's questioning looks, I take note of the shortening crowd.

"What now?" I ask unsure. Edward quickly scans the halls before smashing his lips to mine and pulling away just as quickly. "Don't worry, I'll see you soon Baby-girl."

With a quick sideways glance at me, he leaves me standing there before disappearing from my view.

Unsure of what had just happened, I touch my fingers to my lips noticing that they're slightly swollen, and smile. _Next time_, he said. Causing me to blush and grin in anticipation.

Now there was no way to deny my growing crush for Edward. He truly was my first in every aspect. My first kiss, my first orgasm. I just hoped that my lack of experience in 'that' department, wasn't that obvious to him as it was to me. If it was he didn't say anything, which I was grateful for. I mean I wasn't completely useless, I had tried giving myself an orgasm before but its never felt as good as that.

Inwardly I wondered whether he minded that I didn't shave or wax down... there. I knew loads of guys liked that but I wasn't sure. Sighing I head back towards the hall running into my smiling aunt.

"Isabella! Where've you been?" She doesn't give me the time to respond before carrying on, "It was such a splendid night wasn't it? I'll have to get Liam to hire this place out for Christmas. Everything looked wonderful…" I smile nodding my head whenever she says something, even smiling at Charlotte as we exit out of the museum, ignoring her prying eyes.

Not even she could ruin this for me.

* * *

#Thank you everyone for being patient with me as I'm currently doing my exams (which I hopefully pass).

#Again thank you for all the favourites, story/author alerts, I truly appreciate them! And especially to everyone who reviewed, they mean so much to me and I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. Hopefully you'll really enjoy this chapter! This is the first time I have written any smut/lemon before so please be gentle with me, hopefully it's sufficient enough for this chapter. Sorry for any grammar and/or spelling mistakes, I have no beta and some of the spellings are spelt the Australian way:) Also some of the stuff in my story are made up, so don't take anything to seriously.

#Please Leave Some Reviews:) Even if they're short! I'd really appreciate them


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.  
_Warning:_ Dark themes ahead, you've been warned.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

___Chapter Seven_

Thank God for Sundays.

Tucking my hair behind my ears, I don't even bother to hide my massive grin as I take sips from my coffee mug, peacefully enjoying the silence after the chaotic day yesterday.

It seemed like I wasn't the only one recovering in the household though. Aunt Siobhan who'd finally stopped talking, had retreated to her master bedroom heading straight to bed, followed by her worn out husband who was nursing a raging hangover after having one too many beers. Randall was still asleep no doubt, exhausted from last nights activities, but Charlotte however, had been surprisingly quiet glued to the front living-room couch, attentive in her thoughts.

During the car ride back from the banquet I'd caught her sneaking glances at me when she thought I wasn't looking, and for a few seconds I panicked. I thought that maybe she had saw something that she wasn't supposed to, but I brushed it off reasoning that it was probably because she was tired.

I was drawn out of my thoughts when I felt the familiar ache in my lower region. Wiggling in my seat, I grimace in discomfort feeling the after-effects in my vagina after being stretched from last night, although I didn't regret anything. My grimace quickly forms into a smile when I think about the person who caused me to feel sore and achy this morning.

I had kissed Edward Mason. And he gave me an orgasm.

It's hard to believe that less than twenty-four hours ago, I'd felt his lips against mine and the way his tousled, untamed hair felt underneath the tips of my fingers.

Even though I had no idea what was going on between Edward and myself, I wasn't going to stop it.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I ask Charlotte impatiently, twirling around to face her. I couldn't take all the accusing, secretive glances anymore, for the last hour all she'd been doing was staring at me almost boring a hole into the back of my head.

"You do know that he's just using you right," She says in a matter-of-factly voice.

"What?" I ask confused, "Charlotte I don't know what your problem is with me but-"

"I saw you with Edward Mason yesterday at the banquet." She interrupts, causing my eyes to widen in shock. "Oh don't worry, I didn't see much besides the two of you secretly exiting out of the same room. Although, from the look on your face it tells me everything I need to know." Charlotte says then smirks, "So did he fuck you?"

"Th-That's none of your business," I manage to muster out flustered, "And nothing happened, we just talked." It wasn't exactly a lie, just not the whole truth.

"Right," She smiles wickedly as if she knows I'm lying, before sliding into the seat across from me.

"And I'm guessing that he was the one who bought you the dress as well then." I don't answer, but I don't have to. "I saw the package," She states, "Cute message too, what does he call you… Baby-girl is it?"

I refuse to respond, furious that she went through my things.

"Are you sure you know what you're getting into, Bella?" She asks rhetorically before continuing, "That's Edward fucking Mason. He's one of the wealthiest man in the world, and no offence but… you're not really his type,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I frown.

She laughs with her whole head thrown back. "Oh Sweetie, you don't really think he's that innocent do you? You're not the only girl he's fucked and left," I watch as she grabs the latest _People_'s _Weekly_ magazine lying on the table and begins to carelessly flick through the pages. "He'll just about have sex with anyone with a pair of tits and pussy. Men like him don't do relationships Bella… Let alone with girls who aren't even out of high school."

As she says this, she finally stops leafing through the magazine before sliding it across the table and motioning for me to look at the pages she's bookmarked. Against my better judgment, I glance down skimming through the pages filled with pictures and words, and as each second passes I know that Charlotte is right.

There were literally pages dedicated to Edward full of his snapshots, and in most photos he was either alone or accompanied by a different women.

"That doesn't mean anything," That's a lie. It means everything.

"Keep telling yourself that, Bella. But the real question is," She pauses before asking, "How long do you plan to keep being his dirty, little secret?"

Her question hits me hard, causing my whole body to freeze. Did I really want to be someone's dirty secret? I'd never even thought that far yet, but obviously Charlotte had. "So what, you're gonna' be at his every beck and call now? Then you'll be no better then the other fifty girls he has on his speed dial who drop everything for him because they're delusional to think that they even stand a chance."

With each minute I can feel myself being torn into half.

"Or worse… think about the headlines, 'The Child He Fucked and Left'… Do you really want that type of publicity for yourself, Bella?" She asks questions. "His reputation doesn't exactly precede him anyways. Do you know that there are suspicions going around that he's a killer. They found a gun in his car along with blood on it, but because they didn't have any other evidence to back up their theory they had to let him go."

"Edward wouldn't kill anyone," I say firmly before I can stop myself.

"You don't know that. He could have, after all he was the last person seen with the guy before he disappeared."

Charlotte sighs as she gets up from her chair, "I just thought that you should know what you're getting into before you do anything… rash."

"Well no offence but I wouldn't take advise from you," I scoff getting irritated.

"Yeah… And look where that got you with Brady," I become paralysed at the mention of his name. After all this time, I'd finally thought that I would be able to move on, forget what happened that tragic night. Obviously not.

Although no one had told Charlotte what happened that Friday night, I knew it was only a matter of time before she would have finally figured it out, but this was the first time she'd voiced about it out loud.

"When did you…" I trail off unable to finish my sentence, still frozen in semi-shock. I'd honestly thought I left that all behind.

"I'm not an idiot, Bella. It's not like you've been exactly denying it anyways, plus you were behaving like a total zombie the day after Brady died. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two-and-two together."

"What happened with Brady was an accident?" I say shakily, rubbing my palms up and down my thighs in a nervous manner. The unwanted memories I so desperately wanted to forget were starting to resurface.

"Maybe," She walks up behind me to bend down and whisper in my ear, "But deep down Bella, you know that I'm right. If you hadn't behaved like an irresponsible child that night and did as you were told, then Brady Collins would still be alive." With that she stands up to her full height, "I'm trying to save you from doing something else you'll regret, and trust me… Edward Mason would definitely be one of them." She says before leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I don't know how long I spent frozen to my seat, my head swirling with the new information gathered from Charlotte.

Jumping to my feet, I tune out the clash of the chair as it thuds against the tiled floors and scurry outside of the house, ignoring the inquisitive questions grandma Lucy hollers at me and Charlotte's pointed stare.

_Do you really want to do this?_

I stare back at her my hand lingering on the doorknob, daring her to stop me.

_Yes, I do_.

Running out into the cold weather, I pay no attention as I feel the pouring rain drenching through the material of my clothing when I finally come to a stop at the end of the street. Out of breath, and shivering from the cold I drop to the curb.

After five minutes of wallowing in self-pity, I start to feel the affects of my decision of stupidly running outside into the cold still dressed in my pyjama shorts and my father's worn-out Fork's jumper. It's then I realise what Charlotte was talking about, I didn't think rationally or about the consequences of my decision. I acted in the moment, like a child.

_Maybe she was right_.

When I feel the pocket of my jumper vibrating I quickly grab it noticing that the number is unknown before I go to answer it.

"Hello?" I say unsure.

"_Baby-girl… What's wrong?_"

I don't know why but the sound of his voice causes me to start crying.

"_Where are you?_" He demands. I can hear him rushing around on the other side of the phone.

I knew this should've been the part where I demanded and asked him what was going on between us, what I even was to him. But I didn't, and maybe that was my downfall, being to naive to believe that there would be anything between Edward and myself, a dream I made up. Closing my eyes I rest my head against my arms, which are wrapped around my knees. _One last time_, I promised myself. After this I wouldn't bother him again. _You're going to regret this_, Charlotte's warning filtered through my head.

"At the end of my street," I murmur quietly.

"_Stay there_."

I didn't have to wait long when I hear a car pull up beside me, and the sound of the passenger door being pushed open. "Get in." Jumping to my feet I scramble into his car just in time before he speeds off.

"You're soaked," Shivering from the cold, I see him reach behind to grab his jacket from the backseat before he throws it onto my lap. "Just put it over on top for now,"

Doing as he says I slowly manoeuvre my arms through the holes of the sleeves, all the while realising that I'm probably ruining his expensive Armani jacket.

After thirty minutes of driving in silence, I'm barely able to register Edward parking his car in front of a tall, white building, and turning off his ignition before telling me to get out and follow him.

Walking up towards the entrance of the lavish building, Edward throws his keys to whom I'm assuming, is the valet and quickly ushers me inside not stopping until we're in the elevator. I watch him through the reflection of the glass mirrors as he presses for the button with the highest number engraved on it.

When we finally reach the top-that's thirty floors high, I counted-the door of the elevator opens revealing the inside of his penthouse. His apartment is everything, but not quite what I expected. He has the city view, which can be overlooked through his glass-wall windows as you gaze down, whilst his furniture I note is either black or white matching his modern yet sophisticated living quarters. Despite everything, it still looked so cold.

As I walk further into the room I pause to run my hand over his sleek leather couch that looks like its never been used before. Shivering, I wrap the jacket closer around my body when I notice how chilly it is inside the large apartment.

Even with all this flush furniture and new technology it didn't resemble Edward at all, it looked as if it was… temporary. Like he barely even lived here.

"You're shivering," The hairs on the back of my neck rise when Edward drags his finger along my collarbone observing my trembling form. "Come." Following his lead, he directs me to the master bedroom that is filled with all of his belongings, and watching him through cautious eyes, as he digs through his wardrobe.

When he finally finds what he is looking for, he turns around with a button up shirt and a set of silk boxers clutched in his hand. "Here," He says as he hands them to me, "Put these on," Hesitantly taking them from his outstretched hand, I head to his bathroom to change after he shows me where his bathroom is.

Stripping to my undergarments, I neatly fold his jacket placing it aside on the counter not wanting to ruin it anymore than I have, before wringing out my wet clothes and hanging them across the bath tub. As I begin to wring out my jacket I quickly snatch my phone before it falls to the floor, placing it next to the sink.

After quickly changing into my-well his-boxers, I button up the front of the shirt not bothering to fold back the sleeves since they were too long. Glancing at the mirror I frown, observing how big it looks on me as if I'm being engulfed by it.

When I find Edward he's at the bar pouring himself a drink. Nothing comes out the first time I open my mouth so I try again, "Thank you… For the clothes I mean,"

Nodding he signals for me to come closer. "Do you wanna' a drink?"

I watch his long fingers wrap around the neck of the whisky bottle as he pours the contents into another glass, placing it in front of me. Coincidentally they were the same fingers that gave me undeniable pleasure Saturday night. Biting my lip, I cross my legs remembering the amount of pleasure he gave to me as he used his fingers to bring me to the brink.

"You're blushing," He notes but doesn't comment more on the subject, which I'm grateful for.

Motioning for me to pick up the glass cup, I tentatively take a sip fighting the urge to cringe away from the strong taste. I've never been a drinker, actually that's a lie, I've never even had a sip of alcohol before until just a few moments ago. Dad had tried to protect me from the world and everything in it, but it was inevitable that I would have to face it someday. He raised me up thinking that I was Cinderella and my prince charming would come along and find me, I was very much a sheltered child.

Subsequently, two more glasses later filled to the brim with whisky I was beginning to feel the effects and on the borderline of tipsy. Openly ogling Edward's face I trace the contour of his lines with my eyes, giggling when I notice that his nose is crooked.

"What are you laughing at Baby-girl?" He sounds amused, as if he really does want to know what I'm thinking but I shake my head at him, pointing at my now empty glass.

"Are you tying to get me drunk and seduce me, Edward?"

He smirks, "Is it working?"

I smile in response dangling my legs off the stool, watching as he makes his way around the bar before resting his hands on each of my thigh. "Maybe," I say cheekily, enjoying how his grip on my thighs tightened sending tingles straight to my core.

We meet each other in the middle, our teeth clashing and mouths moving fluidly against one another. Somewhere in the back of my mind I force myself to stop.

"We shouldn't do this," I gasp out, trying to ignore the hot kisses that he leaves in his trail. He hums against my neck, "You're right." He says but doesn't stop his assault on my neck, only moving his lips to somewhere else.

"I barely know you," Groaning when his hands comes into contact with my ass firmly gripping my cheeks in each palm. "Mhm…"

"We can't," I murmur, gently pressing my palm against his chest to stop his movement. He sighs, leaning his forehead against mine so I'm unable to move my head. "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know… It just doesn't feel right." I stutter, staring back into his dilated green eyes.

"Just give it a minute," He whispers, dragging his hands away from my ass to run them over my stomach, so his hands brush against my ribcage as they move towards my covered chest.

I inhale a quick intake of air, gripping his hands over my shirt, "Edward, don't."

He huffs quietly to himself before standing up straight, withdrawing his hands from underneath my buttoned-up shirt.

"Why are you rushing this?" I ask him quietly.

"I thought it was real simple with you, Baby-girl." He says cupping my cheek in his hand. I'm not sure whether I should've been offended or not. "I want you. What more do you need?" He says low and seductive, rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip.

When I don't respond he continues, "What happened to my rebel child last night?"

"I'm not a child." I glare at him. I was really beginning to hate that word now, and what was worse was that everyone was still treating me like one despite that my eighteenth birthday was approaching in less than a few months.

Edward sucked the skin at my collarbone before moving up to whisper in my ear, "Prove it…"

As I pull away, I can feel his hot gaze following my every moment, watching me as I slide off the stool to stand right in front of him. With shaky hands, I run them along his chest until they reach his head, gripping his hair in my hands as his lips descend down onto mine.

I don't know how long we stand there sucking each other's faces off; it could've just been a few minutes or even hours. But when his hips try to seek friction against mine, he groans in frustration when his covered bottoms get in the way. "Fucks sake..." Irritated he grips my hands in his larger ones, before literally dragging me to his room and kicking his door closed on the way in.

When I feel the back of my knees hitting the end of the bed, I let out a small squeal in surprise as Edward roughly pushes me down onto his satin black bed sheets, panting as he hovers above me. Below him, I watch as he undo's the buttons of his shirt revealing his sculptured chest as I tentatively run my hands along his abs and pecs. I knew I shouldn't have been surprised that he was big and muscular, yet almost everything he did still took me by shock.

After his shirt had been tossed to the side along with his pants, I hear my breath hitch as I eye his obvious arousal, feeling wary and excited all at the same time. I try to stifle a moan when Edward presses his warm body against mine, slowly undoing the buttons of my shirt and pushing the material aside to cup both of my breasts in each hand.

"So soft Baby-girl," He murmurs to himself quietly.

Closing my eyes, I feel him pulling the waistband of my boxers and panties down together slipping the silk material off my legs.

"O-oh!"

Releasing out a guttural moan, I fist the sheets underneath me when I feel a single finger being used to brush against my folds. As my eyes flutter open I cry out in loss when his touch suddenly disappears but instead, two fingers are being used to stretch me, as he slowly thrusts in and out.

"Shit, Baby-girl. You're so fucking wet for me aren't you." He says hotly, watching as his fingers slide in and out of me, picking up his pace.

The familiar coiling in my stomach returns as I blindly reach out trying to find something to grab but come into contact with his covered erection. My eyes widen in shock as I quickly retract my hand back, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." I stutter, his fingers retracting and instantly I feel the loss.

His body suddenly starts rumbling and I realise that he's laughing at me. Embarrassed, I turn my head to the side and go to cover my naked chest with my arms.

Gripping my chin with his fingers, he forces me to look at him. "Don't ever hide from me," Slowly pushing both my arms away from my chest, his green eyes darken taking in my whole form, naked and vulnerable underneath him.

Bending down to my exposed and hardened nipple, he holds my gaze as he leans down to flick my nub with the tip of his tongue causing me to groan out his name. Watching with heavy eyelids, his tongue pokes out wetting his lips before hunching over to capture my breast in his mouth.

My hands quickly find his hair holding him in his place. "O-Oh, E-Edward!"

He moans into my chest when I yank his hair hard, cupping my free breast in his hand as his fingers twist and squeeze.

"Edward, please. Oh God…"

"Your tits are so small," He says pressing a lingering kiss against my neck as he removes his hand and mouth from my chest. Staring up at the ceiling, I try not to feel to self-conscious at what he said. I mean, I always knew my boobs were on the smaller side, but before Edward I've never really cared. Now I just felt small and insignificant.

Reaching down to take off his boxers he ignores my wide, panicking eyes, then begins to strip me out from my clothes. I try my hardest not to stare at his standing arousal that is hard and leaking, begging for it to be touched. Even though this was the first… penis, I'd ever encountered before, I knew enough to know that he was well endowed.

With my panties are gone, I feel the returning pressure in my lower core when Edward uses one finger to stretch me, before replacing it with two then three. By this stage my legs are shaking, feeling the coiling pressure in my stomach building up as he steadily begins to finger fuck me pushing me right to the edge.

"Edward, oh god. Please," I beg, moving my hips in time with his fingers. He plunges them deeper into me, increasing his pace until I'm a screaming, shaking mess underneath him.

Sinking into the mattress, I faintly hear the sound of a crinkling wrapper being opened when I suddenly feel something slick and hard being rubbed up and down against my folds, causing my back to suddenly arch up into the air.

"Are you ready for me Baby-girl?" He says hoarsely, fisting his rather large shaft and slowly pushing into me.

Panicked, I try to back away but he pins me against the bed holding me in place, mistaking my alarm for anticipation. Reaching down to grip his shaft with my hand, where I'm barely able to fist his dick, I stop his movement. He glances up, annoyance and impatience plastered on his face.

"Wh-What are y-you doing?" I ask, my voice wavering.

"Don't tease me Baby-girl. You know you want this as well," Edward says, rubbing against my soaking centre to prove his point. "I promise to leave you alone after this. Just let me fuck you,"

Frowning, I bite my lip giving him the nod to continue, knowing full well that I was going to regret this. Charlotte was right, to him I was just another lay in the bed. A guy like Edward would never be into a committed relationship with me, no matter how much I liked him. He was just after sex. I internally wince as he pushes in deeper.

But for this one night, I wanted to enjoy the way he wanted me, even if he was only after a one-night stand. As if I mattered to someone.

I whimper in pain as tears run down my face, when he forcibly thrusts into me effectively breaking my hymen, while using my legs for leverage. I try not to cry out in discomfort each time he pushes into me, my vagina feeling like its being ripped open inside.

He doesn't slow his speed or ask if I'm alright. I don't expect him to. I didn't even tell him I was a virgin so how would he have known.

"You're so tight Baby-girl... Fuck!" He groans loudly.

Clenching my eyes shut I inwardly beg for him to finish. When he does, he makes a sound close to a roar not stopping his movement until he's completely filled the latex with cum. Dropping next to me on the sheets, he hums satisfied.

I try to move my legs but can't, a new wave of tears from my eyes. Rolling to my side, I curl up into a ball cuddling against his ribs and tuck my head underneath his outstretched arm lying above me. I purposely ignore the way his whole body stiffens underneath my touch.

When he tries to push me away, I grip his stomach. "Don't..." I whisper, almost beg.

"Please,"

I'm not sure whether he stops because of how desperate I sound or the way my voice breaks at the end, but nevertheless he does, sighing defeatedly before reaching down for the comforter to pull it over us. I quickly snatch the sheet to my chest wishing that I could just cover my entire body from him and hide.

If only dad saw me now. He'd be so disgusted.

I don't sleep at all that night. Instead I stay frozen to his side lost in my thoughts. At around 2:30 in the morning I notice that his breathing has finally evened out, indicating that he has fallen asleep. I begin to slowly disentangle myself from him, gathering my panties and bra that were lying on the floor before rushing to the bathroom, shivering when I feel the slight breeze against my naked form. I don't waste anytime in the bathroom rapidly donning on my clothes, grimacing when I observe the dried blood stains on the inside of my thighs.

As I exit out of the bathroom I start to leave but pause, noticing the crimson stain on his bed sheet. I inwardly groan, hesitantly walking towards the bed and Edward's sleeping form. There was no way I would be able to throw it away or wash it for him unless I woke him up, but then I'd have to tell him that I was a virgin, and I'd rather not like to embarrass myself any further. When I notice movement out of the corner of my eye I freeze, watching as Edward rolls onto his back causing the sheets to bunch up at his waist. Tentatively walking to his side of the bed where he is asleep, I carefully sit on the edge of the bed so I don't wake him up, vaguely able to make out the shape of his face in the dark.

Using the tips of my fingers, I trace his face before gently cupping his cheek and place a soft kiss upon his lips, lightly brushing against them. Pulling away I realise that I have no way of getting home, until I notice the black wallet lying on the dressing table with notes sticking out. _Please forgive me_, I pray quietly to myself as I pull out a fifty and tuck it into my pocket.

After racking through my head to check if I forgot anything, I quickly leave his penthouse apartment, literally running towards the elevator and breath out a sigh of relief once it shuts close behind me. Resting my head back against the covered wall-mirrors, I watch the numbers on the screen decreasing until it finally reaches the ground floor, making a dinging noise.

My cheeks flush as I hastily make my way out of the lobby, trying to ignore the pointed stares and whispers of people who remain awake and are wandering about in the foyer of the building during this time of the night.

Thankfully, a taxi just pulls in dropping off the people inside of it so I don't have to wait out in the cold.

Rushing towards the yellow vehicle I quickly yell for him to stop, climbing into the backseat of the car as I relay my address to the driver. I tremble at the look he gives me, glad when he finally turns around and starts the car.

After giving the taxi driver the whole fifty bucks so I could just escape and get away from him, I run towards the house sneaking in through the front door but someone beats me to it.

"Isabella! Where have you been? Do you know what the time is?" Aunt Siobhan yells yanking me inside and slams the door shut. "I'm sorry Aunt Sio-" Slightly stunned, I stumble backwards cradling my cheek from where she slapped me.

"Enough is enough. You've done nothing but cause trouble since you've arrived." She snaps angrily as I fearfully step away from her.

"Ask her who she was with." The sound of Charlotte's voice causes both of our heads to turn towards her, where she is casually leaning against the wall with a small smirk plastered on her face. Through my wide eyes I mentally plead for her not to say anything.

"Isabella, answer the question." Aunt Siobhan demands. When I don't respond, Charlotte decides to reply for me. "I saw her earlier this morning getting into the car with Edward Mason, mum. I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen." Clenching my hands into fists, I internally fume at Charlotte as she tries to act like the innocent good girl in all of this.

Aunt Siobhan's eyes widen in shock at first then they turn into outrage, "I don't care what happened between the two of you but you are to never see him again, understood?" She says sternly, "It's over. And if I hear that you've disobeyed me I will kick you out Isabella, Renee's daughter or not. This is the last time."

Nodding my head, my bottom lip quivers. Behind Aunt Siobhan I see Charlotte quietly leaving obviously done with her work here.

"You're a disgrace to this family, Renee is lucky she isn't alive to witness this." She spits out, "I hope you at least had the decency to use a condom." She storms out of the foyer, slamming doors and appliances on the way out.

I don't bother asking how she knew that I had sex with him; Charlotte probably gave her a heads up.

Silently tiptoeing up to my room I don't bother having a shower, but instead climb straight into bed paying no attention to Charlotte who is flipping through her _American Cheerleader Magazine_. In the bed beside me I hear an exasperated huff, "Very mature. So what, you're ignoring me now?"

I don't answer, except roll over so I'm facing the other side.

"Was it worth it?" She questions then pauses.

I knew she was trying to get a reaction out of me, but I wasn't going to give her the pleasure. So I keep quiet staring at the torn wallpaper that's peeling out from the corner. The room falls silent, filled with tension. I don't have to be a mind reader to know what she really wants to say.

_I told you so_.

"Was _he_ worth it?" She asks instead.

Sitting up I turn around to face her, staring her straight in the eyes before responding.

"Fuck you."

* * *

#Thank you everyone for being patient with me, and I'm sorry I took a while to post this chapter up, it was a hard one to write. Some people may or may not like this chapter, but remember it's all part of the story. Just to let you know this is a rape-free story. Again thanks to all the reviews, favourites/alerts and everything else, they mean a lot to me. Hopefully you're all enjoying it so far:) This story does go a bit fast-pace at the beginning, but I know what I'm doing so please stick with me.

#Please Leave Me Some Reviews


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer.  
_Warning:_ Dark themes ahead, you've been warned.

*_This story is briefly based on a story I have read_

* * X * *

_Blood is Thicker Than Water_

_Chapter Eight_

Staring at the pale, stained yellow wallpaper, Charlie occupied the chair in the corner of his bedroom, unmoving, his face blank devoid of any emotion. It had been well over two months since Charlie Swan had last seen or heard of his daughter. Ever so slowly he had begun to sink into resignation, lost and consumed in his thoughts as his health worsened each day. He had become so closed off to the world, to the extent that his friends and work mates had abandoned him not knowing what to do.

"Charlie, it's time for dinner." A female voice echoed throughout the small room.

He gave no indication whether he understood or heard what the lady had said at all, but nevertheless when the plastic tray was placed in front of him Charlie obediently ate his food as the black haired woman manually fed him, being ever so patient as he robotically swallowed his soup down. Charlie had progressed so swiftly into the second last stage of Dementia that Dr. Cullen had become concerned. For most people it took years, for Charlie it had only taken a matter of weeks.

After the terrifying incident that occurred at the police station just over a month ago, he'd resigned from the police force effective immediately and instead locked himself at home where he was taken care underneath the watchful eye of forty years old occupational therapists Mary Odom.

Newly divorced Mary didn't hesitate to move to Forks after being offered a full time position to care for Charlie, in fact she jumped at the opportunity to escape and get away from her twenty-year marriage. Mary liked her job well enough, it paid the bills and kept her busy so she wouldn't have to think about her failure marriage.

After Charlie was fed, he remained frozen paying no attention as Mary left the room before re-entering.

"Charlie it's time for bed, come with me." Mary said, as she tried to pry him off the chair and towards the bed.

"Bella…" Charlie's voice crackled, as he was being placed into bed.

Mary shook her head, "No, it's Mary. Bella's not here, remember?" This wasn't the first time he had mistaken her for his daughter, her name was the only word he showed any recognition for.

Mary didn't know what happened to his daughter, but she couldn't believe that someone would leave their father behind if they knew that he was this sick. Unless of course, they truly were heartless.

~x~

With the library closed due to water leakage it meant I didn't have to go to work, but with nothing better to do after school seeing as I didn't have any social life-I went straight back home to the comfort of my bed. To my surprise, Aunt Siobhan was home early from work, in the living room gossiping with her mother.

Quietly entering the house, I pause by the doorway when I catch my father's name in their heated discussion.

"I'm just glad my Renee isn't here to see of what has become of Isabella," Grandma Lucy was saying. "I told her no good would come out of marrying that Charlie Swan. He was bad blood to begin with." She continued.

"If only you could have seen what was going on for yourself," Aunt Siobhan said, "she was in such a state! Charlie was at wits end with Isabella-she was out of control." I wince back at her statement, as it was my fault since I had given my aunt and grandmother a reason to falsely accuse my father of being a bad parent even though he was the best dad I could have ever asked for. Sighing I vividly remember my rude and stubborn behaviour the day I left Forks.

"You've done wonders with that child under the circumstances," Grandma Lucy commented. Of course she didn't what happened two weeks ago.

"I've done my best," Aunt Siobhan conceded. After a moment of silence I begin to leave, but what Grandma Lucy says next stops me mid step. "What I want to know," She says pausing, "is why he didn't ask Marie to take care of Isabella. I know how much he despises us."

Frowning, I try to inch myself closer without giving away my cover. Who is Marie?

Aunt Siobhan lets out an un-lady like snort, "Mother, Marie is too old to take care of a teenager let alone herself. Plus I think Charlie has finally started to come to his senses and realise that I was right all along."

When they change topics and start gossiping about the next latest scandal, I realise that's all the information I'm going to get. Straightening my stance, I clutch my bag as I silently trudge up to my room to do homework.

Shutting the door behind me I cast a sideways glance at the computer sitting on Charlotte's desk before booting it up. She'd refuse to let me use it even after I asked her I needed to use the computer to do an assignment, for some reason she thought I had nothing better to do and would go and look through her private messages. I roll my eyes and scoff. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, I thought sneakily. For an hour I skim through my notebook mindlessly writing down notes here and there, before deciding to take a break and surf the web instead. Lost in my thoughts, they drift to a certain green-eyed man.

It'd been two weeks since the Mason ordeal. Meaning two weeks since I had last seen or heard of Edward. Charlotte was right of course; he had dropped me like a bag of potatoes once he got what he wanted. Although I didn't blame him, I knew what I was getting into when I rang him asked him to pick me up. But that didn't mean it hurt any less.

Shaking my head, I try to clear any thoughts of Edward. I couldn't afford to let myself wander about Edward. So instead I try to keep myself preoccupied.

Suddenly, I get an idea and curiosity gets the better of me. Clicking the home bar, I type in 'Marie'. Tapping my fingers against the tabletop, millions of sites pop up but none of them are the one I'm looking for. Instead I get a better idea, shutting the monitor off I poke my head out the door, checking to make sure the hall is empty, before tiptoeing towards my aunt and uncle's bedroom. As I creep inside the room I rush towards Aunt Siobhan's bag, digging through her belongings until I find her phone and go through her contacts.

When nothing pops up underneath the name 'Marie', I walk to their bedside table opening and closing drawers as I quickly go through their contents. After ten minutes I know I'm pushing it, Uncle Liam usually comes home about now. Just as I'm about to give up I notice a small, black rectangular address book sticking out from the shelf which is joined to the wall.

I quickly grab it leafing through the contacts until I reach the letter M, the sound of footsteps against the stairs jolt me out of my reverie, as I rip the pages out marked M before putting it back where I found it and rushing towards my room just in time before Uncle Liam reaches the top of the stairs.

Stuffing the torn out pages into my backpack, I do it just in time before Charlotte barges in. "What ya' hiding in there?"

"Nothing."

I can feel her eyes on the back of my neck but I don't turn to face her, rolling my eyes when I hear her groan. "Are you seriously stilled pissed at me?"

I crane my head around and scoff. Of course she would think everything is centered around her. "I was just trying to help you, I told you nothing good would come out of Edward Mason." She mumbled the last sentence, "No need to be a bitch because he dumped you,"

Of course Charlotte wouldn't understand, she went through boys like toilet paper. "To dump someone you would have to be going out with them," I say sourly to myself, fortunately Charlotte didn't hear me.

"Whatever," Charlotte flicks her hair and boots up her computer. There's a silent pause throughout the room.

"Did you use my computer?"

I muster a straight face before turning around to answer. "No,"

~x~

Thursday after school, I find myself at the local park with my phone in one hand and the other holding the crumpled piece of paper I took yesterday. There were at least three different Marie's written on the sheet with their numbers written next to it.

One by one I begin dialing.

"Hi. Is this Marie? My name is Elle Jones, I'm wondering if you know someone… His name is Charlie Swan. Oh… you don't. Thank you, have a nice day."

"Hello, Marie? I'm Elle Jones, I work with a Charlie Swan. I was given this number to contact him… Oh, you don't know who he is… Well, thank you for your time."

Eying the last number, I begin to lose my faith. Who knows, maybe third time lucky. "Hello am I speaking to a Marie?"

_"Yes, who may this be?"_

"My name's Elle Jones, I was calling to see if you know of a Charlie Swan… He's a friend of mine," There's a brief pause before a gasp, and for a moment I thought she had hung up on me.

_"Charlie..."_

"You know him?" I ask in disbelief.

_"Yes," _She whispers so softly that I can barely hear her. I figure a little white lie wouldn't be so bad.

_"Is he here? In Chicago?" _Her voice is so full of hope and desperation that I feel bad that I'm going to lying to her.

"No he isn't. But he asked me to give you something, so I was wondering if it's alright whether I came by?" I wasn't prepared thought for such a quick response, _"Of course! Yes, please come by. Can you come now?"_

"Re-really, you wouldn't mind if I came in about an hour or so?"

_"No please, I'm free whenever."_

After she'd given me her address, which I speedily wrote down on the back of the torn paper, we both hang up with promises that I'll be there soon. But the question was, how did Marie know Charlie?

Two hours later, I find myself in Englewood. It's not hard to work out that this was the poor side of Chicago, the houses were old and small, the shops were basically nonexistent and the streets were filled with people.

Clutching my handbag to my side I dodge everyone as best as I can, staring at my feet as I try to ignore the saucy comments and curious stares. Obviously I hadn't thought this plan out well, there was a reason why these two suburbs were kept so far apart.

I glance back and forth between the written address on the torn piece of paper to the small, old house barely staying upright in front of me with the broken letter box.

Walking up to the front door, I let out a shaky breath before knocking on the door. I don't have to wait long because within seconds the door flies open to reveal a short, grey haired woman.

"Uh-I'm sorry. I must have the wrong address." I stammer out.

Suddenly the old lady's hand shoots out to grab my wrist, preventing me to move. "No! Please, you have the right address. You're Elle Jones, right?"

It takes me a moment to remember that I'm Elle Jones, the fake friend of Charlie's. Nodding my head wearily, I'm rewarded with a big smile. "Please, I'm Marie. I talked with you on the phone. Do come in, I made tea."

She opens the door wider stepping aside to allow me to enter. Hesitantly I cross the threshold, following her until she leads me to her small living room.

"Please sit," Out of politeness I sink into the stained chair scanning the room around me with so many questions burning into my mind, how did she know my father?Who was she?

"Are you hungry? There are biscuits? Scons?" She bombards me, shoving different plates of food in my face. "I would have offered you dinner but I haven't been able to go grocery shopping yet." I give her a small smile, "It's alright, I won't be staying long." I watch the way her face falls before it brightens up straight away.

"Are you thirsty? I'll make tea." She rushes out of the room and into the kitchen, where I hear cupboards and drawers shutting and opening.

Rising to my feet I find myself walking towards the mantle place, looking at the many photographs placed above it. I see that there are a few photo's of Marie taken with the same old man, who I'm guessing is her husband, as I wonder where he is. Smiling I pass a younger looking photo of Marie not really surprised when I noticed how beautiful she was back then, she was still quite good looking despite her being in her sixties.

My eyes then fall onto a framed photograph of a baby barely a few months old, wrapped in a blue blanket that looked oddly familiar. Next to it, there's an image of a couple at their wedding with Marie and her husband standing next to them. I reach up to grab the photo tracing my fingers along their faces before I realise that I'm staring at my father's face.

"Oh God,"

The soft thud of the photo frame colliding against the carpet floor alerts Marie as she rushes into the room, the boiling kettle forgotten.

"What is it? Are you okay, Dear?" She looks from the fallen photo to my pale face.

"H-how do you know Charlie Swan?" I manage to ask calmly. She bends down to pick up the photo, brushing off any dirt before placing it back with the others.

"He's my son." Marie says as she turns to face me, eying me suspiciously. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

I feel my breath hitch, as I'm paralysed to my core.

"Grandma?"

Marie freezes, her eyes widening in disbelief before her hand shoots out to her mouth, "Bella…" She whispers as if any loud noises or sudden movements will make me disappear. She reaches out as if to touch me but I panic.

"I c-can't. I'm sorry."

I'm halfway down the street when I can still hear her calling for me, "Bella! Wait,"

I don't turn around or stop running. I keep going until I run out of breath and find myself at the end of a dark alley.

"Well, lookie 'ere. Seems like someone is in the wrong part of town." Suddenly two men appear, knifes in hand. "Didn't Daddy ever tell you to not wander off?"

Every step forward they take I take two steps back until my back is flat against brick wall and I have nowhere else to run. My only escape is the narrow gap in-between the two men which leads out into the streets. "Don't even think 'bout it."

In a split decision I sprint towards the street and I'm about halfway there before I feel my hair being used as a rope when I'm yanked backwards causing me to fall to the ground. Whimpering in pain, I quickly snake my hand into my bag to grab my pepper spray.

"I hate to tell you… but you're a long way from home Sweet-cheeks,"

When the one with short hair is close enough, I use my bag to hit him in the head. I watch as he loses his balance, giving me enough time to escape but I notice the second guy he was with standing at the entrance of the alley, his eyes menacing and the knife pointed out threateningly. Tightening the pepper spray in my hand, I quickly hold it up and when I'm close enough I spray it into the guy's face before dropping it to the ground and start running towards the street.

The sound of a speeding black car zooms past me until it suddenly swerves to a stop and two men dressed in black suits pour out of the car, with guns in their hands.

Today is not my day, I think sourly to myself.

"You bitch! You're goin' to regret ever showing your face here again." The short haired man from the alley yells, blood dripping from the side of his head where I hit him.

In shock and scared out my wits, I begin to walk backwards eying the taxi in front of the butchers shop.

"Miss Swan, please come with us."

I whip my head towards the suited man, who has a gun in one hand and the other is extended out for me to grab his palm. I flinch, observing him steadily. "Miss Swan, Mr. Mason gave us direct orders, so get in the car now!"

Edward? What did he have to do with this? Was he having me watched? Why did he even care? So many questions were running through my head I could barely think straight.

"I-I can't… This is too much." I say quietly to myself. I ignore the large, scary man and instead jump into the nearest taxi quickly relaying my address to him. I can see his hesitation when he looks back towards the screaming man I've left behind, who is now rapidly running towards us yelling my name.

"Please, just go." I beg desperately. For whatever reason, the cab driver must pity me because he floors the engine so they're left in our trail. I don't relax until we've entered my suburb and he's dropped me off at the end of my street. "Thank you,"

By the time I arrive home, I've missed dinner and everyone else has seemed to have gone out. Even though I don't enjoy the company of these people, it's still nice to be asked. We were still family, and yet they treated me like an outsider.

Trying not to feel too disheartened, I'm glad they weren't home to see me in such a mess. Aunt Siobhan would have been furious. So as I drag myself to the bathroom and turn on the hot water, my thoughts drift to my other grandma. My dad's side. The big question was, why didn't he tell me about her?

Closing my eyes I let the water cascade down onto my face, desperately wishing that everything that happened today would disappear. Involuntarily, I let myself think about Edward. He had made it very clear that all he wanted from me was sex, but now he was giving off mixed signals… And I wasn't even talking to him.

~x~

The sound of the last warning bell rang at exactly 2:30 in the afternoon, the once empty, quiet halls were now filled with noisy teenagers getting ready to go home and relax for the weekend.

"So Bella, are you doing anything for the weekend?" I shake my head in response, "Not much, you?" I ask.

Angela shakes her head, "My younger brother has got his friends coming over," I laugh at the face she pulls, slightly glad that I don't have any siblings.

Angela had become a friend or somewhat, she had just transferred to Guildford Grammar and after sharing four classes together we had begun to talk to each other. It was finally nice to have a proper friend, I had forgotten what it was like to laugh and have fun with someone my own age.

"Do you want a lift back home?"

Smiling I wave her off, "It's alright, I'll walk."

After quick goodbyes and promises to call each other later tonight, we part in separate ways. I'm fiddling with my dad's old CD Walkman that he gave to me for my tenth birthday when I notice a flashy, red car out of the corner of my eye. I don't bother turning around, thinking that it's probably just one of the boys showing off their new car.

So when the sound of a car horn beeps ridiculously loud, it startles me causing me to jump up and whirl around towards the person who owns it, which so conveniently happens to belong to a pair of green eyes.

"Edward?"

* * *

#I'm so so sorry for such the long wait, but I should be updating more regularly. Thank you for all the reviews, story alerts/favourites and author favourites/alerts, they all mean so much to me! I got forty reviews for my last chapter yay! Can we beat it this time? As for the medical illness Dementia, I do not know the proper conditions as I'm just using the information given on the internet so I may be wrong.

#You know what's more annoying than not getting any reviews, piercing your nose then to find out that it has come out during the night and having to wait for one month before you have to re-pierce it again:(

#Please Leave Me Some Reviews:) Much appreciated


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